Transformers: Spacefarers
by SpenName
Summary: Set in a universe, loosely inspired by Animated and IDW's G1. The Cybertronian war has spread out across the galaxy, rising to chaotic proportions. With guilds forming under independent motives and goals outside their respective factions, one guild captain with the rank of 'Prime' makes a move that changes the fate of the war.
1. Prologue

AN: So I recently started posting a drawn "Funny" comic on TFW, depicting a Transformer story I wrote from the ground up, and when someone on this site asked about it, I decided to convert it to fanfiction format and see how it does.

* * *

Cybertronians, robotic beings known throughout the galaxy by many names. Transformers, weapons of destruction, monsters, but most commonly known as, mysteries. While the Cybertronians themselves claimed to have evolved from levers and pulleys, spawning from the depths of their –now dead- home world of Cybertron, there is not one being in the Galaxy that genuinely knows how they came into existence. At this point however, the organics of the universe couldn't care less about where they came from, but how to get rid of them. What was once considered an evolutionary miracle came to be known better as a plague, spreading across the cosmos, solar system by solar system.

It began the day war broke upon Cybertron, and when Cybertron died, it's inhabitants took their quarrels to the stars. Unfortunately for the stars, not even the Tyrest Accord could numb the violence. Within the first year, a colony fell when an Energon substitute was found under its bedrock. No one batted an eye. Within the first Century, the entire Galaxy was split between Autobot and Decepticon control. Separating these two factions were a pair of conflicting ideals, order… and conquest, and as the war spread further, these ideals became shrouded. Autobots and Decepticons alike branched off into their own separate guilds, factions that still held their previous titles and ideals, yet independent and without the supervision of high command. In time, some questioned whether there was anyone in charge of them other than their Guild leader, for with their numbers so far apart, High command had given up on tracking them all.

Battles for Energon, battles for honour, battles for the hell of it, even those who avoided the conflict were forced to take lives just to ensure their own survival. Where the Cybertronians went, death followed. However, legends tell of a single Cybertronian who will one day turn on his race and end the suffering once and for all. More on him later.

...Much later.

* * *

Cartwheel peered cautiously over the crater's outer crust, scanning the area through thick, green-tinted binoculars.

'This is bad.' He said, motioning to his partner. 'Fourteen outposts in a row, and with this much precision? That doesn't just happen.'

His partner, a young, peach coloured robot twirled a pistol around his index finger, grinning as he did. 'So, you thinking what I'm thinking?'

Cartwheel focused on his partners unnerving expression, 'The Decepticons are back.'

Horn-Drill hurdled over the craters edge, making his way clearly and carefully down the slope and towards the broken command center in the center of the crater.

'Where are you going?' Cartwheel called, bounding after the eager Autobot.

'I'm off to kill some 'cons is where I'm going!' he exclaimed.

'Horn-Drill.' the impatient bot sprinted ahead, forcing Cartwheel to shout. 'Our job is observation! We're observers, not fighters!'

A high pitched ringing echoed from his belt. Bringing his communicator to his Audio-Receptor, a feminine but firm voice spoke through.

'Cartwheel, are you there?'

'I'm here Sonar, can't say the same for Horn-Drill…'

Sonar was one of the chief communication specialists, filtering orders through to the remaining bots under Prowl's command, she, like many others in the so-called Autobot hierarchy worked perfectly comfortably in the Autobot Orbital Hub where most filtering occurs.

'Idiot, he ran off again, didn't he?'

''Fraid he did, it's just as Prowl suspected, the base is wiped clean. No survivors.' Cartwheel upped his pace as he began to lose sight of Horn-Drill who had scampered into the underbelly of the wrecked base. 'Hold on… Horn-Drill! You there?'

He called out.

No response.

'Horn-Drill?'

'We'll get back to you in a minute.' Sonar replied, 'retrieve Horn-Drill and return for pickup.' The communicator beeped as the line went dead.

'Cartwheel?' Horn-Drill called back, 'I found a survivor.'

Cartwheel darted down the slope, arching around a thick corner to find Horn-Drill leaning over what appeared to be a broken corpse. The body was limbless and nearly headless save for a lower jaw crowned with a dark, mechanical blob stemming outwards. Something that Cartwheel could only guess was what was left of a brain-module. His torso was gutted, with a large pile of metallic tubes and robotic fluids flowing out from his center. His legs had been crumpled into short, metal stubs.

'Dear Primus…' Cartwheel said, kneeling next to his partner, 'you said he was alive?'

'I did.' Horn-drill pointed at the bot's trembling lower-jaw. 'Scrap, right?'

Cartwheel shook his head in disgust, 'Decepticons couldn't have done this, could they? I mean, they're still Cybertronians, they shouldn't be able to manage…' he shook his fists at the body, 'this!'

He felt a sense of uneasiness, though it was caused by something more than the vivid gore that lay before him. 'Behind his head. There's some writing.'

Horn-Drill carelessly pushed the body aside to get a better look. 'You're right. That's old Cybertronian yeah?'

Cartwheel brought a servo to his mouth, inspecting the writing carefully. 'I can read it.'

'What's it say?'

'It's… it's strange really, it says "waiting"' he turned to Horn-Drill who stared back at him with widened optics. 'Any idea what that means?'

But his partner remained staring, wide-eyed and terrified.

'Horn-Drill? What's wrong?'

In a flash, Horn-Drill whipped out his pistol and fired three shots at Cartwheel. All three of them somehow managed to tear through his cheek, bouncing off the figure behind him. Grabbing the wound, Cartwheel span around to find himself face to face with a large metallic creature, hidden within the shadows of the building to avoid detection.

Horn-Drill screamed, firing his gun until he ran out of ammo, each shot bouncing off of the creature's armored plating without so much as a scratch. Before Cartwheel could pull out his own weapon and react, a long, bony tendril struck into his chest cavity, twisting through a maze of wires and gears, piercing his spark casing and letting the energy blow the rest of his torso apart. Stunned, Horn-Drill did the sensible thing and ran, transforming into his drill-tank mode and driving as fast as a drill-tank could possibly go, but before he could reach the other side of the crater, the large, metallic creature dropped one of its thin, long, angular legs in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.

* * *

Sonar tapped at the keypad again, trying to boost the signal. 'Cartwheel, are you there? Cartwheel?!'

Her view-screen re-calibrated just and either life signal fizzled and faded.

Massaging the bridge of her nose, Sonar placed her attention to her chief, sitting across from her with his back turned.

'They're gone.'

Prowl shut his optics, deep in thought.

It would be long before Sonar got her response.

* * *

But this story isn't about them… nor is it about the supposed chosen one of Cybertronian myth.

For now, we place our focus on a completely uninteresting looking spaceship, manned by a completely uninteresting looking captain.


	2. A Favor House Optimus

'You said the 'P' word.'

Within the span of an endless void, dotted with star clusters, space-dust, comets and asteroids that decorated the universe with hues of red, green and violet, a lonesome golden spaceship flew. It was rather plain in design and had little outstanding features other than the four large thrusters at its rear. Inside was a single Cybertronian, an Autobot. Broad-shouldered and blue, the robot was at a height only just above average with a large, red, upper body, and shoulders adorned with vehicle thrusters reminiscent of an earthen truck's smokestacks. He was sitting in the dark, facing an active communications monitor, the screen illuminating most of what could be seen within the room. The Autobot was hunched over, holding his head up with a balled hand, completely disinterested in what was being said to him.

'To be perfectly honest sir, I think you're being just a little bit immature about this.'

The blue robot scoffed, '"Immature"… please, we both know who we're talking about here.'

The bot on the screen had a wide, crimson face, with a golden helm completed with a wide golden crest.

'Prowl just wants to-'

The blue robot snapped his fingers, jolting up in his seat as he did, 'There! You said it again, you said the P-word again!'

The golden robot paused, listening to someone on another line, 'Uh huh... He says it'll only take five minutes.'

The blue robot sighed, 'Listen Hubcap, within five minutes time he's going to rant about something official, I'll tell him off, five minutes turns to five hours, and by the end of the day we all end up with migraines.'

'Oh please…' Hubcap spoke woodenly, 'Prowl's not that bad.'

The communications officer's unconvincing tone did little to motivate the blue bot, instead, he managing a cold glare that read "are you serious?"

Hubcap sighed, lowering his optic lids, 'Okay, fine, truth be told, Prowl's yelling into my intercom and now he's reading out something… official.'

'Not fun is it?'

The corner of Hubcap's mouth twitched in relief, 'Annnnnd that's the go ahead, I'm putting him on.'

The blue robot's optic's widened. 'No, wait!'

The screen fizzled, it's image reformatting from the stout, gold communications specialist to that of a taller, more narrow-faced Cybertronian, adorned with a white helm and a sharp red head crest; a pair of metal wings sticking out from his back. Further behind him were a number of robots moving back and forth against the dark backdrop that was the Autobots Orbital Command Hub.

'Damn you Hubcap…'

'Optimus Prime.' Prowl said, addressing the blue robot, his voice was loud and stern, 'Under direct orders from Ultra Magnus himself, I am obliged to undergo a progress check and update you… on…' Prowl paused, taking notice of the loud clicking noise coming from the other end of the line.

'…you're trying to sever the connection, aren't you?'

Optimus ignored him and continued clicking the 'end call' button on the monitor's touch screen. 'No… yes… it's not working, tell me why it isn't working Prowl!'

Prowl brought a hand to his face, massaging his right eye lid wearily, 'I wouldn't know, it's not like we hacked your ship in order to track you and/or keep you on the line or anything.'

Optimus stopped clicking, and frowned. 'I didn't say anything about-'

Realizing his mistake, Prowl lowered his hand and spouted into the mic, 'I'm joking, that was a joke!'

'Oh.' Optimus leaned back in his chair, accepting the response. 'Alright.'

The head-crested robot brought one digit down upon the 'mute-mic' button and the other to the side of his helm. 'Attention all tracking units…' he nodded at Blaster, who was across the room and working on a large piece of machinery labeled "Ark Monitor 9000" on its side.'He's on to us.'

Optimus tapped his finger on the button yet again, only this time as an act of impatience. 'Alright, you might as well go ahead and tell me your "orders"' he paused, coming to a realization, 'Say, don't I technically outrank you-'

'For years now, the Decepticons have been lying low' Prowl said, cutting him off, 'their leader cloaked in the shadows… and their guilds no longer making any assaults on our major colonies, only setting camp on the planets with the least recognition.'

Optimus crossed his arms and nodded, 'So they're hipsters…'

Prowl looked astonished. 'What?'

'They're avoiding the mainstream-'He stopped and waved a dismissive hand, 'Forget about it. You were about to say "But."'

'They've stopped,' Prowl continued, 'as of last week over fifty-six Independent Autobot Squadrons have been burnt to the ground.'

'And who else but the Decepticons, right?'

Prowl nodded, 'Precisely.'

Optimus stopped, wondered, and spoke in a quieter tone.

'It's a shame, I admit, but I'm afraid it's still no longer my problem anymore.'

Prowl wrinkled his brow, 'what do you-?'

The chief's optics flared a dangerous cyan light as he slammed either servo against his desk.

'What do you mean it's not your problem?! You're a Prime! One of the few commanding officers with a title still connected to high command, one of the few even chosen for the role! You're not like those self-appointing 'Independents' like Grimlock, Springer or-or Chromia, you possess an Ark-Class Spacecraft- despite doing nothing with it for the past decade but fly around, aimlessly through space. You are a Prime-Commander and You. Have. A DUTY!'

Optimus was silent, clasping his servos beneath his chin as he decided to choose his next words wisely, a stray thought occurred.

'I'm done with this Primus-forsaken war Prowl, if you need help fighting it, then go ask for the other Primes, whatever happened to Sentinel… orOverride Prime?

As much as he hated to admit it, Optimus was nobody special. The mere thought of being biologically related to one of the original thirteen was a rare enough requirement to gain the title of Prime, (being a descendant of Primus himself as required for the title of Magnus was like winning the lottery), But despite that, Optimus wasn't the only Prime, and he was far from the "best" as his primary name suggests. He could recall a sharp feeling of embarrassment upon re-reading the files on the currently active Primes nights earlier.

Name: Sentinel Prime

Squadron Title: The Elite Guard

Members: 93

* * *

Name: Override Prime

Squadron Title: The Velocitronians

Members: 127

* * *

Name: Optimus Prime

Squadron Title: Team Prime

Members: 1

It didn't bother Optimus quite as much as it would have the others, but Optimus no longer cared for any sort of competition between him and the dozens of other Primes that scattered the cosmos, leading their own crews into conflict. Prowl's voice snapped him out of his day-dream and back into attention.

'They're all busy guarding the front lines so that we don't lose any more territory to the cons, and that's still not enough.'

Optimus lowered his gaze, prepared to drown out Prowl's words with his own thoughts if he had to.

'Which is why we need you just as involved' Prowl continued, 'I know you Optimus you may not be the… optimum soldier, but you still have that academy training, and that alone makes you a worthy force for us to utilize.'

When Prowl was without a response, he sighed, and spoke a single word in a soft but characteristically firm voice.

'Energon.'

Optimus's optics blinked back towards the screen.

'I know you need some, even Ark Class run out of fuel sometime, so let's make a deal, you do one or two odd jobs for High Command, and I'll personally supply you with enough Energon to last you a Megacycle. I'll even let you choose the job.'

Optimus felt prepared to retort, but instead sighed and raised his arms in surrender, 'Alright, but it depends, what are my options.'

The corner of Prowl's mouth flickered in victory as he read out the objectives. 'Option A, there is an asteroid belt blocking the path of one of our trade routes, clear it out and you'll receive your reward. Option B on the other hand, is just as I had said before, several Independent Guilds have been disappearing and Magnus thinks it could be the result of some sort of newly made Decepticon weapon, investigate the occurrence, and if possible, eliminate the threat. So. What will it be Prime?'

Optimus drummed a finger on his face plate in thought, and pulled himself out of his chair. 'Okay, just tell Magnus that he need-not worry.' Standing away from the terminal, Optimus did the most dramatic fist-pump he could muster and winked at the screen. ''Cause those asteroids won't know what hit them!'

* * *

'Gooooo yoooooouuuur WAY~!'

Optimus dug a bright orange Energon powered axe into the asteroids tough exterior, sending chunks of space-rock shattering and spiraling off into the distance. The axe's model was typically used for the clearing of objects for planetary exploration, though Optimus could have sworn he had witnessed either Ironhide or Rodimus use one to split a con's skull once upon a time. With built-in magna-clamps on his legs, the Ark parked on the very asteroid a kilometer away, and a catchy tune in his head, Optimus hefted the large axe out from the asteroid, doubling back as he did so, and preparing to strike again.

'I'll take the long way 'round~!'

With no sound travelling through space, the task of striking an axe into a large asteroid became an awkward one with every impact seeming weaker than it actually was. Thankfully, this also meant that no nearby sentient beings would have to listen to Optimus's singing voice, but that didn't stop him.

'Oh I'll find me own way down~.'

He prepared another strike into the rock but hesitated, lowering his axe, Optimus found himself staring forward. His mind wandering. His grip tightening.

'As I should…'

He lifted his head and gazed at the stars, he wanted to say they were the one thing in this Universe that never change, but even he knew that stars burned out and died just like the rest of them. In fact, when considering their distance and the rate of the starlight's travel, the orbs of light Optimus was observing could have very well been extinguished years prior, not that he cared of course; Optimus was never a bot of physics.

He sighed, staring at the multicolored velvet-like dome that was space, stretching endlessly around him and causing him to wonder, 'What am Idoing?'

'I can't believe I'm saying this, but Prowl's right.' he said aloud, 'I've been doing jack-squat for what seem like years now I- what's the phrase?'

Optimus paused to think and furrowed his brow.

'I think I need to ''get a life''.' He stared at his axe and scoffed, 'I'm not Grimlock, or Chromia… and I'm far from being Magnus… but that's where Prowl's wrong, it's not because they're busy warring and I'm not, it's because unlike me, they still have a goal, a motive, a reason to live. Me, I've been drifting the stars with nothing on my mind other than how to avoid conflict, me… I'm pointless.'

He sneered, slamming the handle of his axe into the space rock at his feet. 'And here I am talking to myself like a maniac, doing maniac cleanup duty under maniac Prowl's-'

Optimus blinked, staring at his axe, then the asteroid, then his shuttle and back again.

'-orders… Why the hell did I think breaking the asteroids one by one with an axe was a smart idea?'

* * *

His axe folded and fixed on the top of his cab, Optimus drove the short kilometer to his ship in his Cybertronian vehicle mode. It was four-wheeled with his rear ones noticeably bigger than the front, it was almost reminiscent to that of a "Tumbler", a vehicle Optimus had observed in a movie back at his old training post. If there was one thing Optimus modeled him off of both personality wise and build wise, it would be movies. It was also where his tendency to monologue came from, as did his tendency to come up with long winded speeches that would end up no where.

Driving up the ramp and into the Ark-19, Optimus did as his old medical instructor taught him, and grumbled on about his anxieties.

'Idiot… how could I have forgotten about the Ark's massive guns…? 'Been so long since I used them I must've just forgotten they were there.'

Once inside the Ark and without stopping, Optimus's body changed. Plating shifted over one another as parts contorted and extended until he was once again in his humanoid form.

'It seems like I've been forgetting a lot of things concerning the Ark,' he went on, 'like it's landing gear, and it's massive guns, and fuel levels, and it's massive guns…'

He slapped himself in the forehead, 'and I still can't stop talking to myself. I must have cabin fever. But then that doesn't make sense, I don't live in a cabin, so… Ark Fever…? Space Fever…?' he paused, 'then what's disco fever- I blame the Ark!'

Slumping into his command chair, Optimus decided it wasn't worth thinking about and overlooked the main bridge. 'Still… it's a nice ship.' He stared at the empty seats aligning the arching walls.

'Albeit an empty one…'

As he finished his sentence a high pitched whizzing noise filled the room, and in moments, the Ark's ceiling was torn apart. Pieces of gold metal and multicoloured wiring exploded outward as the visage of a turquoise and brown cockpit crashed in front of Optimus. The Prime squeezed the chair's arms as his optics widened.

'What.'

A full-sized, Cybertronian Space Shuttle had nosedived into the grounded Ark, sticking out of its roof at a 65 degree angle.

Optimus leaped from his chair. 'WHAT!'


	3. Four Troubles

_AN: I must say, it is much more relaxing writing shorter chapters in a much more contained story. That's not to say I won't continue After the Fall, but right now this feels like a much simpler writing practice._

* * *

'What.' Optimus repeated. His legs were trembling. The ship had crash landed only a few feet from his command chair and the shock of almost being crushed had a lasting effect. Sparks trickled from cracked monitors and equipment as loose, vine-like cables dropped from the ceiling, draping over the brown ship as they produced light, white flashes of electricity. A light banging came from the inside of the shuttles cockpit, growing louder with each vibration.

Optimus readied his axe, prepared for whatever was about to come out, be it Decepticon or worse. With one last vibration, the glass shattered and out fell a large, jet-black Autobot, hitting the floor headfirst and rendering him upside down. The black robot had a bulky torso with a dark red and black chest piece that appeared to form some sort of angled bulbar, presumably one that would cover his front fender in vehicle mode; he also had a deep, dark scar that ran over his right optic from brow to mouth-plate. His shoulders were broad, if only due to the fact that they appeared to form the front of his vehicle mode, but what made the bot stand out most, were the pair of large cannons connected to his lower arms.

Optimus stared at the robot, and the robot stared back, smiling.

'Optimus!' he exclaimed, jumping to his feet, the Autobot bumbled over to the Prime, punching him playfully in the chest. 'Who'd have thought that after all this time, in a universe as big as ours, I'd ever see you again?'

'What.'

'Good to see you haven't changed!'

Optimus squinted at the bot, he knew he recognized him, but from where, when? Unless… that voice, those mannerisms, all coming together into a form of familiarity that the Prime recognized instantaneously. He placed his hands on either one of the Autobots wide shoulders and grinned, 'Ironhide!'

He nodded, grinning back. Ironhide was known fairly well among the Autobots. Having fought in the field for over two decades now, jumping from guild to guild, outpost to outpost, assisting and berating the squads there, but what made him stand out from other freelance Autobots, were his considerable strength, firepower, and stubborn attitude with the troops lucky/unlucky enough to fight alongside him. No one, however, knew him better than Optimus. Having been his training partner and rival during his days in the academy, the two had later found themselves posted on the same backwater planet up until the squadron's disbandment two decades prior.

'It's been so long that I barely recognized you and, well…' Optimus motioned to the bot's burly frame, 'You say I haven't changed, but I'm afraid I can't say the same for you.'

Ironhide raised a crooked brow, 'How do you mean?'

Optimus observed Ironhide, up and down, looking where to start. 'Well you didn't always have that mouth plate, and your paint... You're black now, why are you black?'

A small bronze and silver Autobot popped between to two friends causing Optimus to blink in surprise.

'Oh my God sir, you can't just ask someone why they're black.' The Autobot was thin with a scratch-covered, silver chest plate and bronze arm and leg guards. Silver spines stuck out of the bot's head in an almost 'hair'- like fashion as a pair of large, round, crimson optics rotated in place above a bronze mouth plate.

Optimus waved his hand in denial, 'Oh, no I didn't mean it like that at all I- um…. Ironhide, who's this?'

'Oh…' Ironhide pressed his hands against his hips, blinking at the short, bronze robot. He shrugged, '…just some guy I guess.'

The bronze robot squinted at him in irritation 'Girl…'

'You don't know the names or genders of your own crew?' Optimus said.

Ironhide shook his head, 'Oh this isn't my crew; we just happened to hitch the same lift.'

'We're hitchhikers,' the bronze robot explained, 'the name's Cog by the way, thanks for asking,' she stuck a thumb over her shoulder, gesturing to one of the two robots stumbling out of the ship behind her 'and right over there, is the guy we hitched with.'

Sitting with his back against the front-end of the ship, a short, aqua coloured mech with a yellow head crest ornamented with blue, goggle-like ovals above his optics. From what Optimus gathered, the bot was a flyer, as two yellow-striped wings stuck from out of the bot's lower legs. Perhaps it was the head crest, but there was something about the bot reminded Optimus of Prowl.

Uh oh… Prime mouthed. From his right came Ironhide, stomping over to the aqua coloured Autobot in a pace that could't have portrayed a more negative emotion. Each step from the bulky bot seemed to make the room shake, causing dust and debris to fall from above.

Ironhide placed himself in front of the sitting bot, staring at him intensely. The bot lifted his head in response, unsure of what the large, dark bot standing in front of him wanted.

'Hey.' Ironhide finally said.

'Hey.' The bot replied back.

'You appeared to have had some... optical dysfunction, when choosing where to land…' with the shake of an arm, Ironhide's cannon's clicked together and activated, creating a soft whirring noise. 'Perhaps I can… rectify that for you.'

The Aqua bot raised his servos above his head in panic, 'Look man, I don't know what you're talking about or what you want to do to my eyes, but frankly, I don't like it.'

'Funny, my cannons don't like you.'

'I don't know what to tell you guy, because I can honestly say that I don't know what happened. The ship was on autopilot for crying out loud, you literally just pick a location, press a dial on the remote, and presto, that's where it takes you. There must have been a splotch of cosmic rust on the warp engine, or a malfunction with the ship's AI for all I know, because if you can't already tell, this isn't where I wanted to be.'

Before he knew it, Ironhide was looming directly over him, a bright orange energy forming in the barrels of his cannons.

'Is that so? Well you know what I think, I-'

Deciding he had seen enough, Optimus placed a heavy hand on Ironhide's shoulder, pulling him away from the cowering bot.

'Ironhide, stop it.' Optimus spoke in a stern and firm voice he had used exclusively in his days as a squad commander, 'this isn't how we do things here, remember?'

Staring at the Prime, Ironhide delivered a perturbed grunt, before lumbering off to find something better to occupy himself with.

'Now then,' Optimus crouched next to the sitting bot, placing a lighter and warmer hand on his shoulder, 'What's your name?'

'Sky-Line,' the bot answered.

'Well Sky-Line…' Optimus's face simpered into a sinister grin, 'do you happen to enjoy running… frolicking about?'

Sky-Line smiled uncomfortably in hopes to break the tension, 'Ehh? Not particularly.'

Prime leaned forward, prompting Sky-Line to ask a question he would soon regret

'Why?'

* * *

The next thing Sky-Line knew, he was outside, jogging along the rim of an asteroid, beads of oil dripping down his face and his legs screaming at him to take a rest.

'Great job Sky-Guy!' Optimus called, making a thumbs-up sign with his digits, 'only four-hundred more laps around the Ark to go!'

Sky-Line cursed through gritted teeth as he continued his trek.

Optimus stood outside the Ark with his hands placed on his hips in triumph. The ship turned out to be an easy feat to remove thanks to its remote autopilot, and pulling it out of the Ark was a breeze despite its forward thrusters singeing the Ark's overhead even further. What Optimus found at all difficult about the whole ordeal was adjusting to talk with other Autobots. He had been out on his own for two decades now, flying aimlessly as Prowl said, and while he would stop to assist the needy neutral or organic, Optimus had rarely had any interaction with other Autobots as of late.

'You see Ironhide? That's how one punishes someone for wrecking my ship. Laps.' He shook his head as he reminisced about his days in boot camp, 'I always hated laps, never made any sense. The temptation to transform and drive the rest of the way made it even worse, but at least this way we won't end up with assault charges like the last time you decided to punish someone Ironhide.'

Ironhide shrugged.

'You, my friend, are a monster,' the grinning, fourth and final hitch-hiker observed. He was a short, dark green bot with a square chest and a blue-tinted visor. He had three red crosses marked on his person, two on either shoulder, and one large cross on his forehead. 'You must enjoy seeing others in pain, don't you?'

Optimus sneered, 'What? Of course not… not real pain at least.' He stopped, 'sorry I haven't asked yet, what did you say your name was?'

The bot jabbed a thumb at his face, 'The name's Incision. I'm a medical officer see?'

'Oh, okay.'

Incision's grin broadened, 'You get it? 'cause Incision, like how you- you know- like with a scalpel…'

'Yeah, I get it.'

'But- do you really? Cause it's like when you take a scalpel and create a-'

Optimus craned his head away from Incision, facing Ironhide, 'so what's on your mind Ironhide?'

The dark bot had his arms crossed, a shocking feat what with his large cannons normally getting in the way. 'I was just wondering where Cog went, not messing around with my luggage I hope.'

'Relax; she volunteered to fix my roof. All on her own even.'

Optimus's communicator rang, 'That must be her now.' Answering it, his optics widened in pleasant surprise, 'Yeah- really, already? You've only worked on it for fifteen minutes, are you- great job, that was- that was crazy fast!' he lowered his communicator and turned it off.

'She just finished.'

Incision made a 'rocking' gesture with his servos. 'Damn! Where'd she get her training, 'cause I want in on it, that way I'd be awesome. More awesome than my name, which is-'

Ironhide slammed a fist against the medical officer's crown knocking him into the large asteroids hard exterior, despite this, Optimus didn't seem to mind.

'Things seem to be looking up,' Optimus said, watching the stars, 'We've got a pilot, a medical officer, an engineer, my close friend, it's convenient that- … '

He stopped. Beginning to realize.

'Prime… you feeling alright?'

He nodded, 'I'm fine, thank you Ironhide.' He turned his head away, muttering to himself, '…It's just convenient is all.'

* * *

Sky-Line wheezed as he came to a stop to catch his breath. Hands on his knee-joints, he spat up oil and prepared to run again. Stopping, he checked his six and noticed that the Ark was blocking Prime's view of him. I might as well walk if they stopped watching, he thought, and promptly walked the length of the Ark. He raised his upper lip at the thought of the cobalt coloured Prime. ''Can't believe I have to do slag like this under a so-called "Prime"' he said aloud, 'why he decided to keep such a false title despite lounging about for the past twenty years I will never understand.' He spat, 'If Prowl doesn't pay me extra for doing this I swear I'm gonna-'

He heard the sound of rock crack under-foot from behind.

'Ah… scrap.' He shut his optics and turned around, prepared to run more laps for what he had said, 'look sir, I didn't really mean what I said, and I especially-' he opened his optics to see that it wasn't Optimus he was talking to. Nor was it Ironhide, or Cog, or Incision. Standing before him was a metallic creature with long spindly legs, multiple green eyes held together in a cluster, and silvery-blue plating that reflected the space around him.

* * *

Sky-Line's screams echoed from behind the Ark's massive structure, causing Optimus to act immediately, kicking up rock as he sprinted towards the source of the scream.

'Who "AIIIIIIIID'd?!' Incision demanded.

'That scream sounded feminine,' Ironhide observed, 'something must have happened to Cog.'

'I don't think so,' Optimus replied, 'it came from the other side of the Ark which means—'

Darting around the corner, Optimus skidded to a stop with Ironhide and Incision in tow. A few meters ahead of him was Sky-Line, or better yet, what was left of him. His left arm was torn open exposing a canvas of circuitry and exoskeleton that reminded Optimus of his dissection studies during his younger days in med-school. His right had been torn off completely and replaced by thick grey wires that leaked a sickening green liquid while his legs were fused together in a mangled mess that would make even Chief Medical Officer Ratchet flinch. His torso had been ripped open, a mosaic of tubes and circulatory capacitors circled a crushed spark, torn out from within and seemingly gnawed at. What disturbed Optimus most from the gory canvas, was Sky-Line's face, his optics were blocked by a black sludge and his head crest was all but torn off, his glass goggles shattered, and his mouth hung open as if still in mid-scream.

Ironhide appeared unfazed by it, but turned away from the sight regardless, the same went for Incision who merely bowed his head in respect to the dead. In contrast, Optimus felt as though he were going to vomit. He held it back for the sake of his companions and shook his head thoughtfully. 'What could have done this?'

'Not the Decepticons.' Ironhide said, turning back to Optimus grimly, 'saying they're bad would be an understatement, but none of them, not even Megatron is capable of doing this.'

'Not on their own, no, but maybe they…' he paused, 'maybe they developed something capable of doing this.' Optimus snapped his fingers, 'Incision, you're a medical officer yeah? Can you do a biopsy; see what might have done this to him?'

Incision nodded, 'Well for one a biopsy might be a little pointless since those all about the severing and sampling of skin, and without the equipment I-'

Optimus rolled his optics, 'Fine, sue me for never finishing med-school, can you make a diagnosis?'

I'll do what I can.' The medi-bot kneeled next to Sky-Line and in a flash, several scalpels, syringes and spyglasses flipped out from his wrists. His visor also contorted and shifted into a magnifying glass in one optic and a double-layered scouter in the other. Optimus felt himself awed by the swiftness in which Incision worked, his digits moving faster than a cyber-fly, and his magnifying glass darting from individual component to individual component. Incision stopped, converting his arms and visor back into their stationary modes. He turned back to Optimus and Ironhide who watched him with eager expressions.

'Okay, from the looks of my scans, I can determine with absolute certainty…'

He paused for dramatic effect; Ironhide and Optimus leaned in.

'…that this bot is most certainly dead,'

Both bots groaned,

'I didn't even go to med-school and I could have figured that out!' Ironhide snapped, slapping himself in the forehead.

'Are you sure you're a doctor?' Optimus asked, folding his arms.

'What do you want me to say, that he was killed by a Decepticon? I can't just open his brain and see what happened before he died, no one can.'

'Er… guys?'

Optimus raised a brow, 'I wouldn't say no one, there are quite a few cases actually.'

'Prime?'

'What is it Ironhide?'

The dark robot pointed a beefy finger at a large hole carved into the side of the Ark.

Prime groaned, 'Why is it that I can't go twenty minutes without someone wrecking my ship?'

'I'd be more worried about what made it than how to fix it.' Ironhide said.

Incision raised his hand, 'Hands up, who wants to bet that whatever killed Sky-Line did this?'

Optimus grimaced, 'Yeah. Whatever it is, it's in my ship. Which means it's…' Optimus spun to Ironhide.'

'Which means it's going for those of us who are alone.'

'So it's-'

Optimus sprinted forward and transformed, driving into the circular hole, 'its next target is Cog!'


	4. Swinging the Scalpel

Blow torch in hand, Cog melted the final cracks in the ceiling together leaving nothing more than a few scorch marks. The torch tucked itself away within the paneling of Cog's arm as she stepped down from her step ladder, planting her feet on the hard, metal floor.

That ought to do it. She dusted off her servos and prepared to tuck away the latter when she sensed a presence behind her. Stopping, Cog could sense almost immediately that what was behind her wasn't your typical Cybertronian. The creature raised a thin appendage, preparing to strike as Cog spun around, facing the creature and wielding a large Hydra Cannon that appeared to be twice her size.

'Not today punk!' the barrel glowed a light cyan before firing a large burst of liquid blue flame that smashed into the creature like crashing waves on a ship. The mechanoid staggered back, giving Cog a better look at what she was up against. It was made of metal. That much Cog was certain of. It was shaped like an arachnid, with a silver plated abdomen and multiple stalk-like legs protruding from the main body. Its front end had a pair of spiked mandibles beneath a cluster of emerald optical sensors, all focused on the bronze robot and rotating on occasion. On its side was a line of letters and numbers, followed by a purple symbol, A Decepticon one.

Cog prepared another shot only for her weapon to wheeze and sputter due to overheating.

'Damn it.' She hit the back of her hand against her gun in hopes of snapping it back into a working condition. The creature advanced its movements clumsy and jagged from the hit it took previously.

'Ironhide!' Cog whipped her head to the command room's exit as Optimus, Ironhide and Incision rushed in.

'Open fire!' Optimus ordered.

'Oh what? I thought we were going to just sit and watch!' Ironhide quipped, charging his cannons. Orange energy composed within the barrels, brightening until Ironhide could feel the heat against his wrists. With a quick mental command, Ironhide fired two wide beams of orange and blue light, hitting the large parasite dead in its center prompting it to let out a deafening screech. The creature's legs skittered and skidded as it took another shot to the abdomen. Its massive legs dancing along the metal floor, the creature stumbled, using Ironhide's cannons' length recharge rate to flee out the exit-way opposite to the Autobots, disappearing down the Ark's corridors. Optimus darted to Cog offering a hand for her to pull herself up.

'You alright Cog?' he eyed the hydra cannon wrapped around her wrist as she pulled herself up '…where did you get that gun?'

'None of your God-damned business, that's where.'

Ironhide shrugged his shoulders as he approached Cog and Optimus. 'It's retreating down the corridor… did you always carry around that gun?'

Cog flung her arms in the air, 'Isaidit'snoneof yourGoddamnedbusiness!'

Ironhide blinked, and turned to Optimus, 'speaking of guns, were you-?'

'Nope.'

'Were you holding your axe by the blade… as if it _were_ a gun?'

'Er… W-why would I do that?'

Ironhide rolled his optics, 'I wouldn't know. I just think we might have had a chance of taking it out if we actually had a little more firepower. Why didn't you use your Ion Blaster?'

Optimus looked to the side, 'I… um…'

'What?'

'I returned all my blasters to Wheeljack when I severed my ties. Other than the Ark's outer cannons, we're 'gunless'.'

Ironhide responded with an icy glare, 'Get out of town…'

Optimus breathed a sigh and turned to Cog and Incision, 'So in short, Skyline's dead, there's a monster on the loose in MY ship, and frankly I'm starting to get just a little uncomfortable about all this.'

'Anyone else get a good look at the thing?' Incision chirped, 'because in my medical opinion-'

'I saw some sort of writing on its side,' Cog cut in.

'Oh… okay.' Incision turned around, grumbling, 'go ahead and interrupt the small guy why don't you… lovely.'

'It read ARA – 003… and had a Decepticon symbol at the end, any idea what that means?'

Optimus and Ironhide exchanged reluctant glances and huffed simultaneously. 'To be completely honest with you Cog, the only damn I give about what's printed on that thing is the purple symbol.' Optimus said.

Cog nodded, cocking her cannon as it fully charged, 'So we're fighting… what, some sort of new, Decepticon drone prototype?'

'Something along those lines, yes. So here's the brief, just before you guys crashed into me like the Kool-Aid guy on a sugar-rush, I had a vid-call with Prowl. He told me that a sort of anomaly has been wiping out outposts by the dozens and if I were to guess…'

'That's what we're dealing with now.' Ironhide finished.

Optimus nodded.

'So what's the plan, man?' Incision asked.

'Well for one, if we call high command about this we'll only be risking even more Autobot lives upon their arrival, and if we're being realistic, there's no reason why Prowl couldn't just set the Ark to self-destruct, taking us down with it and writing up a report about our "'heroism'" in our sacrifice.'

Ironhide tapped Cog lightly on the shoulder and leaned towards her audio-receptor, 'In other words Optimus may or may not want to take the glory for himself.'

'All I want to know is what in the everlasting hell a "Kool-Aid Guy" is.'

'He watches a lot of TV.'

'Oh.'

Optimus continued, 'In short, our mission is to terminate the drone before it escapes the Ark, or -more likely- kill us. First order of business is we split up, and-'

The three Autobots burst into laughter sending a chill of resentment up Prime's spinal strut.

'You guys… I'm serous, if we split into groups of two we'll be able to cover more ground and trap the thing before it escapes and leaves the Ark to kill again.'

Ironhide waved an assuring hand, 'Okay, okay… just be sure that your death-screams are loud enough so that we know where the drone catches you.'

* * *

Optimus and Cog had their vehicular lights activated, illuminating the darkened hallway as they advanced. Having severed several circuits during the crash, the Ark's overhead lights had dimmed to a soft orangey glow as a result of the backup generator's conserved power. Cog was a few feet ahead of him, peering into each of the rooms with a refreshing sense of curiosity. Optimus remained unsure of how to approach her. He was still introverted from his time in solitude, with little idea how to speak to a single bot let alone within a group. Even Ironhide seemed… distant, and it wasn't just his change in colour palette that made Optimus feel this way. Was he always this- what was the word- Stoic?

'Holy hell.'

Optimus jogged next to her to see what she was looking at.

'This ship even has a swimming pool? In all my years as an Engineer I've never seen a ship this high strung.'

Optimus scratched the back of his helm, 'Thanks? I mean it _is_ Ark Class, only Prime's and Magnus's are permitted to them…. High Command still won't permit me a freaking bar though…'

'Is that right?' Cog wandered towards another room, outstretching an eager hand only to have it pulled back by Optimus.

'You do _not _want to go in there.'

Cog traced Optimus's gaze of the room, it was compact, but its purpose was clear. It was a prison block. A short row of plexi-glass cages lined either wall, empty thankfully, but the eeriness of the room remained.

'Why? Is this where you keep all your porn?' Cog asked, trying to ease the mood.

Optimus glared at her in offense, 'What? No it's-'he paused to massage the bridge of his nose, 'how do I explain it, this room is connected to a larger electrical circuit, it's got outlets connected to each of the cells.' He pointed a digit at a small red box nailed against the far wall of the room. 'See that console over there? That's the only thing keeping the circuit from turning this whole room into one massive taser.'

'But, what's the point of-'

'It's our prison ward, the console deactivates when the glass is shattered. Therefore if anyone tries to get in or out, they get fried.'

Cog nodded in approval, 'The perfect porn stash.'

Optimus beckoned her to move on, and the two continued their trek down the corridor.

'There's something that's been bothering me.' Optimus said, staring forward.

'Uh huh.'

'You can fix a roof in minutes, you can pull a large cannon out of nowhere.'

'Uh huh.'

'You don't expect me to just ignore that do you? You're kind of a… what's the phrase, Mary Sue…? No, you're almost unbelievable, where were you stationed before you hitched with Sky-Line?'

Cog barely made any reaction to the question she was asked, prompting Optimus to wonder whether she had heard him or not.

Finally she spoke, 'Honestly, I'm not supposed to say this to anyone but… I worked at Kimia.' She sighed, 'Yes, THAT Kimia, hence why I'm filled to the brim with size changing equipment, Energon repair rays… classified tech that should never have seen the light of day.'

Optimus brought a digit to his face-plate, 'I've heard rumors of that place. Rumor that they perform mundane experiments and go through terrifying procedures just to help the war effort, it's just as the rules of the Galaxy state, Rule 1: Never go to Kimia… Rule 2: NEVER go to Kimia!'

Cog chuckled, 'I can assure you those rumors are false.' She lowered her head, the spiny, silver bristles poking out from her helm vibrated at a slow pace, 'It's _much_ worse…'

The Prime tilted his head to the side, 'Well this got a lot more distressing than I hoped,' he massaged the side of his helm, trying to remember his original point. 'I think what I meant from all this is that you're actually pretty helpful, and, well I suppose it's nice having other people around for once.'

Cog's optics squinted as a grin arched from underneath her face-plate, 'If it's any consideration, I don't exactly have anywhere to go and- well I might just stick around once this is all over, if you'll have me of course.'

He reflected her smile, 'For once Cog, I think I might just like that.'

* * *

'It's no wonder you don't have any friends!'

Ironhide was paired up with Incision of all bots. Why he hadn't tuned out the rambling's of the smaller green medic was anyone's guess.

'Look, I'm not saying I think I'm a better doctor than Ratchet, it's because I AM a better doctor than Ratchet, besides, I have tons of friends, like Sky-Li-' he stopped, realizing what he was saying, 'oh yeah… never mind.'

'You're lucky Prime convinced me not to inflict any 'violence' upon you, because right now I can feel myself gaining the precise urge to rectify your personality, granted you give me any more lip.'

Incision frowned at the much larger Autobot, 'Does anything you say make any actual sense or… okay, so what about _your_ friend, this Optimus guy?'

Ironhide glared at the medi-bot with flaring, cyan optics, 'What about him?'

'What's he like, I mean what's he _really_ like, it's rare that we see a Prime retaining their rank nowadays. Hell, I doubt most guild outposts are run by anyone other than motivational foot soldiers at this point.'

Ironhide faced forward and sighed as if he knew the topic was going to crop up sooner or later, 'Would you believe me if I told you he's actually a huge nerd?'

Incision blinked in surprise.

'Optimus and I went to boot-camp together, hated each other at first, but stuff happens, yadda, yadda, we learned to tolerate each-other and ended up guarding the same outpost until…' Ironhide's fingers dug into the palms of his hands, '…until whatever. Knowing him is pretty boring sometimes, he liked to sit around and read to himself a lot, always decorated the base with those pine scented thingies… and he _loathes _violence.'

'Well _he's _certainly in the wrong place.'

'No kidding. WAY too dramatic, I'm serious; he monologues and comes up with the most pompous speeches all the time, always best to interrupt him before he gets too into it I say.'

Incision stared at his feet, trying to legitimately remember if he had ever met someone who he got to know as well as Ironhide did.

'But you know what? He's also stupidly heroic, in a good way I suppose, helping out anyone he can, I feel like he's trying to prove something but I just can't put my finger on what… still, I appreciate having Optimus to rely on.' He paused, turning around to face the medical officer, 'It's always good to know someone's got your back eh Inc-'

Standing behind Ironhide was the drone. With one bony stalk stabbing Incision through his mid-section and another into the soft space between the medic's throat and his collar.

Hearing the commotion, Optimus and Cog sprinted around the corner, facing Ironhide and the creature as it stabbed Incision's body with the force of a jack-hammer, shredding it until it looked nothing more than a large slab of metal. Ironhide provided fire, only managing foul shots with Incision's strung up body in the way. Cog placed herself at Ironhide's side, activating her Hydra-Cannon and firing short bursts of liquid-blue flame at the creature.

'Optimus!' Ironhide cried out, 'I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention and he snuck up on me, I'm so, _so,_ sorry!'

Optimus waved a dismissive hand at the ornery bot, 'forget about it and focus on the target, I'll try to think of- wait.' Optimus pointed at the torn up bot in the drone's grip, 'What's he- Incision!'

Incision lifted a weak servo and clumsily transformed it into a sharp, metallic object.

'What's he got there?' Cog asked, dodging a strike from one of the creature's long tendrils.

'I know what that is…' Optimus readied his axe, 'that's a scalpel.'

Ironhide raised a brow, 'What's he need a scalpel for?'

With what remained of his damaged vocal processor, Incision shouted his answer and raised the scalpel above his head. 'IT'S FOR APPLYING A MOTHERBOARDING _INCISION_ IN THE FLESH BABY!'

He swung his arm backwards, stabbing the scalpel into the large cluster of optical lenses on the drone. It let out a loud screech, stumbling backwards and dropping Incision's body.

As Ironhide and Cog provided cover-fire, Optimus sprinted forward, slamming his axe against one of the creatures outstretched stalks, and grabbing Incision by his broken collar. He dragged Incision away from the drone as Ironhide and Cog drew back their fire, taking backward steps as it began to catch it's balance.

Optimus gently pressed Incision against the wall and knelt next to him, 'It's alright buddy, you're a doctor right? You know what I can do to save you right?'

'Optimus!' Cog called out.

'… Look, we're going to kill this spawn of a glitch, even- _especially _if it's the last thing we do, and it'll be you who will be tasked with patching us up after, cause that's what you are, a healer, a fantastic one I bet, and I have all sorts of faith that you can pull us through this, now tell me how I can fix you so that we can-'

'Optimus…' Cog was providing cover directly next to Optimus, the drone flailing and screeching in agony, 'my scans… they-'

'What, what is it?'

'…Incision's spark left his body nearly thirty seconds ago.'

Optimus examined the medical officer and suddenly it became clear. The large hole in his chest, the cracked, dimmed visor, the brittle state of his damaged frame, the slight smile of triumph on his lips… Optimus stood up, holding back his grief for another time, 'Aww… no.'

'We need to retreat back to the comms room!' Ironhide said, his cannons already overheating 'It can still sense us, and I think it's learned how to dodge our shots.'

'That's really not fair.' Cog said, turning to Optimus. 'I concur; we can't fight it.'

Optimus nodded and waved a servo for them to follow, 'Let's roll.' All three robots transformed, Optimus in his four-wheeled truck mode, Ironhide into a compact heavy rig mode with the edition of his combined cannon's on his 'roof' that gave him an almost tank-like exterior. Cog transformed into a bronze and silver motorcycle of sorts, with her font wheel larger than her back one. Optimus was unsure whether the drone could still sense them or not, but regardless had his thrusters set at maximum.

'Cog, your scanners told you the precise time he passed, correct?'

'Yes.'

'Did he hear any of what I said?'

'I'm almost certain of it, sir.'

The three Autobots swerved into the command center and transformed. As the last one in, Ironhide spun around and slammed the door shut behind him, feeling the force of the drone slamming against it as he locked it shut.

'Tough son of a gun, aren't yah?'

Ironhide turned to face Optimus and Cog, the former leaning over a computer terminal and punching in a number of keys.

'What are you doing?'

'I'm making a call.'

'To who?'

* * *

Prowl sat in his command chair, counting down.

'46…. 45… 44…' the terminal rang.


	5. Questionable Decisions

Prowl raised a rigid brow, _44 seconds early. Something must have happened._

He hastily answered the call and watched as Optimus Prime's visage materialized on the screen. Ironhide was next to him.

'Optimus Prime, I see Ironhide is with you, have you cleared those asteroids ye-'

'Cut the crap Prowl, I know Sky-Line was working under your orders.'

Ironhide flinched at the Prime's suspicion, but Prowl retained his cold demeanor. There was no point in keeping up the charade, both bots were aware of that, and both bots were just as eager to get the argument settled.

'Alright,' Prowl admitted, 'I thought gathering some bots and placing them under your command would motivate you to get back into the fight, how did you find out?'

He scoffed, 'Seriously? My closest friend since boot camp, a medical officer, a pilot and a skilled engineer… Tough guy, smart guy, lancer, girl, you were forming the stereotypical five man band for me!' He folded his arms, 'You underestimate my knowledge of Movie and Television tropes Prowl.'

Prowl shrugged, admitting his defeat, 'Very well, and where is the rest of your ''band?'''

Optimus and Ironhide exchanged hesitant glances before nodding simultaneously.

'They're WHAT?!'

Prowl was on his feet, his fingers digging into the sides of his control terminal as he received awry glances from the communications personnel passing by his office.

'Do you have any idea how much precision and planning it took for Sky-Line to find three bots fitting the required criteria, _all _hitchhiking at the same time? Can you even _comprehend_ the mere calculations it took to effectively crash the ship into the Ark and still retain minimum damage?'

Ironhide fisted the palm of his hand, 'So he really _did_ crash the ship on purpose!'

Optimus pressed his thumbs together meekly, 'I thought you'd be a little more concerned with the dead Autobots than the process it took to get them here...'

'Cog's the most disappointing loss of all' Prowl lamented, 'her credentials and place of work are astounding enough as it is, but now that-'

'Cog's not dead.'

Prowl blinked, 'Oh?'

Optimus nodded and turned around, pointing aimlessly at the room behind him, 'She's right over-'

To his surprise, Cog was nowhere to be found. To his horror, the room's exit was left wide open.

'Slag, Ironhide, up front!'

Ironhide nodded and dashed towards the exit as Optimus placed both hands on the comms terminal. 'Prowl, if none of us call you back in thirty minutes, I want you to bring in Sentinel or Rodimus or whoever and have them blow up my ship.'

'… Are you certain you-'

'I _am_ certain Prowl. I was an idiot before; I thought that I'd be able to handle this monster on my own but I was wrong. I was selfish, I thought you'd have us demolish my ship in order to trap it, or take the glory for yourself, but you know what I realize? _I don't care. _I'll be happy as long as this spawn of a glitch doesn't live to take any more lives.'

Prowl paused for the briefest of moments, and nodded. 'Understood, as you command _Prime.'_

The connection was severed, and without hesitation, Optimus sprinted for the room's exit. He came to recognize that this was the first time Prowl had ever spoken him the way he would another superior officer, let alone a sentient being. He had an inner loathing for Prowl ever since he got promoted over him those two decades ago, but seeing him nod in approval over the comms channel gave Optimus a sense of pride he couldn't recall having prior. He peered down the corridor, calling out names. 'Ironhide… Cog?'

Optimus heard gunshots and sprinted towards the source. He came to a stop as he skidded around the first corner, nearly bumping into Ironhide's vehicle mode. Cog was with him, both unloading clip after clip at the large drone, crawling along the ceiling.

'Move!' Ironhide urged, firing his vehicular cannon and backing up. Optimus transformed, alongside him and Cog.

'What are you two doing?!'

'I have a plan.' Cog remarked, activating her vehicular weaponry as the drone advanced. 'Just follow me.'

Ironhide and Cog did a 180, driving in the opposite direction of the drone, whose large footsteps proved to be a faster form of travel than at first glance.

'It's faster than us.' Ironhide said, grimly.

'We'll make it.' Cog assured.

'No.' Ironhide transformed. His legs slamming against the floor and leaving a trail of sparks behind him, 'we won't.'

Optimus felt his spark bounce in his chest, 'Ironhide, what are you doing?'

Ironhide fired a charged blast from his arm cannon, hitting the drone dead centered into its shattered optic-cluster. 'You guys do what you need to do; I'll hold 'em off for as long as I can.'

'And after that?'

Ironhide did not respond, only taking the time to block a strike from one of the drone's long appendages.

'Damn you Ironhide.' Optimus's tires screeched against the floor as he followed Cog. 'I'll kill you if you don't survive this.'

Taking the lead, Cog swerved around yet another corner and into a familiar looking room with Optimus in tow.

'This is…' Transforming, Optimus came to understand the reasoning behind Cog's plan, 'this is the prison block.'

Cog placed a hand against one of the plexi-glass cells, 'If we can manage to lure it in here, we should be able to trap it and zap it.'

Optimus nodded, 'Now the question is how the hell we're going to get it into a ce-AAGH'

The creature's spear-like stalk pierced through the back of Optimus's calf and out of his kneecap, inducing a loud scream from the Prime. As a result, Optimus unfolded his axe, swinging it into the long appendage protruding through his leg and emitting a satisfying _crunch _into the drone's bone structure. With a quick application of force, Prime's axe cleaved cleanly through the creature's leg, severing himself from the drone's grip. The mechanoid screeched and stuttered backwards allowing Cog to drag Prime out of its reach.

Optimus's attempted to stand only to fall back to his knees. 'I can't- I can't stand, there's a splinter of the drone's leg locked in one of my joints.'

'Relax.' Cog tried to sound assuring as she emptied another round into the creature to keep it back, 'we can just pull it out and-'

Optimus sat up straight, reaching forward with trembling fingers, 'PRIMUS NO!'

Cog placed a warm hand on his shoulder as the drone drunkenly bumped against the sides of the entryway. 'It will only hurt for a second, besides that's… that's not-'Cog stopped herself and followed Prime's gaze. Dropping from the creature's shuffling mandibles was a severed and torn limb, digits all but torn off and wires sprouting from both ends, the only part of the limb that appeared untouched was the large barrel-like cannon connected to the wrists. It was an arm. Ironhide's arm.

Cog wasn't sure what to say, so she didn't. Instead, she stood up, and followed her initial plan.

'C'mere big boy!' she taunted as she fired a shot into the drone's jowls. The drone caught her scent and shook its body like a wet dog, squeezing itself through the doorway awkwardly. Cog darted away from Optimus and into the nearest open cell she could find, drawing the drone's attention to her.

Optimus crawled next to the severed limb, pulling it towards his stomach in anguish. The drone's shadow passed over him as it set its attention on the bronze engineer in the cell.

'Cog!' he called out, 'what are you doing?!'

'It's the only way this will work, trust me, I'll be fine.'

Optimus tried to move only for the pain in his leg to spike. 'Don't _do _this to me Cog, not after Ironhide… Incision.'

Cog fired all that was left from her Hydra Cannon as the drone entered the cell with her, 'If you want to help, hit the emergency locks, at least then what happens here won't be without a point.'

Optimus didn't know _what _he planned on doing, but the first thing that came to mind was to rip the splintered metal stalk out from his leg. The sliver was in deeper than it looked, but was nothing in comparison to Optimus's agitation. He let out a throbbing roar as the appendage came free from his leg. The pain remained, but at the very least he could stand. Without a second thought, Optimus dashed to the emergency lock adjacent from the cell and swung Ironhide's arm like a club, smashing the panel with it and setting the glass cage to close off.

'I did it…' he swung his head to the cell in question, 'I did it Cog, I-'

To his despair, the drone was far from trapped, it's abdomen stuck between the glass doors, forcing their way shut. It was standing above Cog's lifeless body. Optimus wasn't sure if he was thankful or not that the bulk of the gore was shrouded by the creatures shadow, but regardless felt a growing sense of dread when he realized that Cog's plan had failed, well, initially at least.

He circled the wriggling drone and came to a stop in front of an adjacent glass cell.

'I'm sorry Cog, but I don't think your plan worked.' His grip tightened on Ironhide's arm, 'so let's try mine.'

The droneretreated a stalk into its 'person' and used it as a saw to sever one of its hind legs from the main abdomen, setting it free from the closing door.

'I knew it, you really _are _intelligent.' Optimus dropped his axe and spread his arms to either side, 'You've killed everyone else yeah? that just leaves you -a biologically Decepticon super weapon-, and me, -a pointless Prime who's made too many questionable decisions for a lifetime-, or perhaps in your optics, 'prey\.'

The creature stared at him.

'Well?' Optimus stomped the metal ground, ' You've already killed everyone else so what are you waiting for? COME. AND. **GET ME!'**

Optimus was tackled with the force of a freight-train, crashing backwards and shattering plexiglass cell behind him. The next thing he knew, he was on his backside using whatever strength he could to keep the drone's mandibles from tearing off his face. He cursed the systems lack of response and instantly regretted not upgrading when he could. 'Stupid low Energon reserves…' taking a metaphorical leap of faith, Optimus walloped the creature with one arm and used the other to aim Ironhide's cannon at the red box on the far wall behind the drone. Firing a single blast, the console exploded violently and in the span it took for the creature to pin Prime's arm to the ground, the room worked accordingly and erupted with electricity. The massive shocks surged through both robots leaving them both with a deathly pain aching throughout their entire bodies. Optimus couldn't recall taking a hit worse to this prior, but felt a sense of triumph regardless of it. As long as the drone died with him, he would be satisfied Just before shutting off however, Optimus felt a strong servo grab his arm.

Optimus wasn't sure how long he had been lying on the cell block's floor, but whatever the time, he wasn't alone. He wanted to jolt upward and ask a thousand questions, specifically, "Why am I not dead?" but his wounds had taken his toll. He felt like death and if he really wanted to, was prepared to fall back into stasis. It was the sound of the familiar voice that helped him focus.

''Bout time you woke up.'

Optimus turned his head, too weak to smile. Sitting cross legged next to him on the floor and covered in bruises, slash marks and scrapes was Ironhide. Manually reattaching his arm with a miniature blow torch built in to his index finger.

'Ironhide…' Optimus sat himself up and stared at his friend, 'Am we dead?'

Ironhide scoffed, 'What, you didn't think _I _was going to die did you?'

Optimus stared at him deadpanned, 'How?'

'I played dead,' Ironhide said reluctantly, 'It wasn't hard when you have anemia, what with the Energon loss caused from having my arm ripped off and all.'

'But… doesn't that hurt?'

'What does?'

'Your arm.'

Ironhide cringed, 'Like hell, it does.'

Optimus turned to the cell across from them,

'I didn't move her yet,' Ironhide said, 'she didn't die quite as… messily as the others so-'

Optimus raised a swift hand, 'I don't want to hear it.'

Ironhide nodded solemnly, testing the joints in his arm as he made the finishing touches. 'I didn't touch the monster either.' He said, motioning towards the cell behind Optimus. Behind the glass was the drone lying flat on its stomach and motionless. 'I can't tell whether it's dead or in stasis lock since, well, the shock only lasted a couple of minutes before the backup generators started running and God knows how much punishment that thing can take, but the glass managed to mend itself, so regardless we won't have any zombie spiders to worry about.'

Optimus nodded slowly, '…Thanks for pulling me out when you could Ironhide… I appreciate it.'

Ironhide snapped his fingers and pulled a touch-screened communicator from his belt, 'Speaking of zombie spiders, I tapped in with Prowl for you, he's actually been waiting for you over the phone.' Ironhide handed Optimus the touch-pad. Pictured on it was Prowl's eager expression giving off just how long he may have been asleep for. His arms weak, Optimus lifted the weighted pad in front of his face so he could at least get a better look at the screen through his oil crusted optics.

'Optimus Prime.' Prowl typically greeted.

'P-Word.'

Prowl disregarded the odd address and got to the point, 'Ironhide informed me of your success, high command wishes you Kudos for your victory.'

'Three people died today.'

Prowl raised his upper lip, '_Billions _died today, and with the rate this war is going, billions will die tomorrow. But after what you did here, stopping that abomination, many more deaths will be prevented.' He stopped, realizing that wasn't what Optimus wanted to hear. 'I'll have a team sent to collect their bodies within twenty-four hours. They'll be given proper funerals, I can promise you that.'

'I still don't forgive you for forcing me into the same situation I've been trying to avoid for the past twenty years you know.'

'So, I take it you won't be reconnecting with High command any time soon?'

The connection was severed, giving him his answer. Prowl stared at the darkened screen for what felt like minutes, 'Optimus… you're the one Autobot I can just barely predict.' He turned to the large figure looming over him, 'I still don't understand what you see in him.'

The figure was far larger than your average Autobot with massive white shoulder pads towering above his head and limbs that could crush the life out of your average-sized bot. He had similar colours to Optimus himself only with a predominantly blue scheme and a much bulkier frame. Clipped neatly under his colour was a perfectly erect name tag that read what Prowl thought was the longest title in the history of the Autobot accord.

_Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord and High Commander of the Autobots: Ultra Magnus_

'Potential, Prowl' the Autobot High-Commander said, 'I see _potential.'_

Optimus stared at the communicator and allowed himself grin, 'I'll never say it to his face, but I'm a little thankful for what Prowl's done, I probably wouldn't have survived if it weren't for you guys. Eh Ironhide?'

Silence.

'Optimus… the drone.'

'What about it?'

'It became a… _sexy.'_

'Heheh…' Optimus twirled his head to follow Ironhide's gaze. 'What?'

Inside the cell was a Cybertronian, a female one at that. The bot had the same general silver and black colour scheme as the drone, but appeared smaller. She had large shoulder pads that made up the abdomen, and a crumpled chest-piece that would form the creature's head. Her helm was golden with four, narrow optics peering out from within. 'Oh!' she leapt to her feet, 'it's happened! It's actually happened.'

Optimus and Ironhide stared at her dumbfounded.

'Yes, YES! I remember now, he said I would gain a proper conscience at the same time my T-Cog activated. Wow, so many things all at once- ARMS, I have arms! Wicked! And legs...! Well I already had quite a few of them already but… oh hey! The voice in my head stopped too, no more "KILL, KILL, KILL" Repeating over, and over… thinking is pretty neat when you think about it.'

She marveled at the duo and began to awkwardly clap her new hands together, 'Congratulations! You're the first ones to defeat me and force me out of arachnid mode!'

Optimus stepped forward cautiously, 'You're a Cybertronian?!'

'A meta-gene, biologically enhanced Cybertronian, bred in the labs of New-Kaon… but a Cybertronian nonetheless.'

Ironhide charged his cannons, pointing either one of them at the drone's humanoid form.

'"Ironhide, lower your weapons"' the prisoner imitated, turning to Optimus, 'That's what you're supposed to say, right?'

Optimus folded his arms, 'Ironhide, keep your weapons on her, aim for the head.'

'Or not.'

The Prime leaned against the glass, glaring at the imprisoned femme, 'I _know_ you're up to something. You're smiling; Decepticons never smile in this sort of situation unless they have something planned. What the hell are planning?'

Just as he feared, her smile refused to falter, 'Idiot, out of the dozens of Autobot Colonies I've torn asunder, ranging from around 50 to 100 bots, the two of you and those three lightweights managed to be the very first to capture me, let alone force me into stasis. Luckily, Megatron had a _backup_ for that, the moment I utilized my T-Cog, a signal was broadcasted to the Decepticon's head flagship, announcing my defeat and transmitting my location. And now, heh, _now _the most powerful Decepticon is coming to clean up the mess.'

Her grin broadened as she bared witness to the expressions of fear plastered across the Autobot's faces, 'That's right boys, _Megatron _is coming.'

Miles and miles of space away, The Nemesis warped into place.

_And he's coming to kill you both._


	6. The Decepticon Armada

Optimus Prime scrambled as the Decepticon "drone" rambled on within her cell.

'Blackarachnia… yeah, that's my name, I think. Either that or it's whatever I ate before transforming.'

'Would you shut up?!' Ironhide gasped, tapping furiously at his communicator in hopes of reaching the Autobot Orbital Hub.

The Decepticon scoffed. 'Oh please, my mind has been downgraded to a lowly drone with the mental capacity of an animal justso that I could carry out my orders without hesitation. Now that I have it back together there are so many less restriction on my mind, I can say whatever the hell I want; or better yet I _don't _need to listen to you.'

Ironhide growled and punched his digit into his communicator's touch-screen.

'Hah, idiot, that won't work,' Blackarachnia heckled, 'The Nemesis is bound to have blocked any form of communication between you and the rest of your pals.'

'_Dammit!' _Ironhide chucked the communicator against the wall and watched as it broke apart into tiny bits of wiring and tech. Beaten, Ironhide crossed his arms and slumped against the glass cell opposite to Blackarachnia as Optimus re-entered the cell block.

He was empty handed and gently scratching at his wounds as he spoke,'Prowl said he'd send a pickup crew within twenty-four hours… we can't wait that long.' He stopped between Blackarachnia's cell and Ironhide, 'The Ark doesn't have enough power for us to run, and Sky-Line's ship is too damaged to ensure a safe flight. We're going to have to fight this one out.'

'There's no point.' Blackarachnia sighed, 'Megatron is going to kill you anyway, he's going to kill you, then set me free.'

Optimus could feel his patience failing, 'I somehow doubt he'll be that kind to you…' he slumped next to Ironhide, 'but she's right, I'm barely a squad leader let alone a Prime and here we are up against the Decepticons _leader_. Not to mention the amount of damage-' he paused as Ironhide's arm fell out from its socket and clanked against the floor. The dark Autobot picked the limb up, and reluctantly melded it back in place, '…the amount of damage we took already.'

Blackarachnia nodded contently, 'Damn right.'

Ironhide looked up from his re-fixed arm and brought a digit underneath his chin, 'What if… no.'

Optimus faced him eagerly, 'What is it?'

'Never mind, it's nothing.'

'It's _not_ nothing, literally _anything _can help us at this point, what are you thinking Ironhide?'

'Well it's-' Ironhide shook his head, obviously as displeased about what he was considering as he knew Optimus would be, 'It's well, Cog had a repair ray built into her right? Well we could—I could reach into her and pull it out since she's—well- not using it any time soon.'

Optimus was prepared to retort with a speech, no, a lecture on the respect for the dead. He was ready to do it, ready to let his rage and bafflement towards the idea fuel a long verbal attack. But he knew that wouldn't solve anything. He gritted his teeth.

'Fine. Do it.'

Ironhide nodded and stood up, staring aside at the cell in which Cog's body lay, 'You don't have to watch, in fact why don't you go out and search Sky-Line's ship for supplies that might help us through this.'

Optimus nodded slowly and stood up, 'I think that's what I'll do.'

As he made his way out of the cell block the taunts from Blackarachnia filled his audio receptors.

'What's wrong Autobot? Afraid to see a little blood?'

Optimus drowned out her voice and marched on, unsure whether he would live to see the end of the day or not.

* * *

The Nemesis was the flagship of the Decepticon Empire. A dreadnought of massive proportions, built with its own set of sharp edges and inhuman shape, all the better to strike fear in the enemy and awe-inspire the Decepticons around it. It had hundreds of rooms, hab-suites and facility's for those lucky enough to travel aboard it, and was equipped with the most regarded weaponry, capable of taking out half of an organic city with a single strafe. However, the once gleaming violet halls had begun to mold, and many of the hab suites had become vacant with the Decepticon army's current spread out state over the past twenty years. Like the Autobots, Decepticons such as Bludgeon, Onslaught and Garboil had already formed their own independent units working outside of Megatron's jurisdiction, gaining their own followers in the process. Indeed the Decepticon hierarchy had become an even worse mess than the Autobots in recent years, of course, with the few hundred or so followers Megatron still had, he needed few of them at his disposal for his plans to process, for other than him, there were only four other Decepticons on board.

Thundercracker rubbed his optics in a daze. He was a Seeker, one of the many hundred warriors in the Decepticon Aerospace Legion under Starscream's command; he was light blue with pointed wings and had orange and silver highlights across his frame. He did not look like a typical warrior as his limbs were thin for a seeker's standards, and by any one bot's perspective, Thundercracker would look very… average, more so considering his larger chassis, but when placed next to his trine of Starscream and Skywarp, it was obvious which of them was the runt of the litter. It had been long since he was treated to a good night's rest and the constant flashes of violet light sparking throughout the Nemesis's bridge only added to his building irritation. 'I will never understand how this happened.'

The light flashed in front of Thundercracker, replacing itself with a tall, dark seeker, similar in design to Thundercracker but with a much bulkier frame. 'What do you mean?' the black and purple robot, better known as 'Skywarp' asked before disappearing in another flash of light.

Thundercracker massaged the side of his helm with two digits, 'Well let's see, you disappear for a three months, you don't answer any of my calls, and then, without further notice you come waltzing back with no recollection of said months and- oh yeah the ability to teleport.'

Skywarp teleported upside down, hovering above Thundercracker contently, 'Yeah, that's about it, sounds like a typical night at the pub if you ask me.'

Thundercracker opened his mouth to speak but found himself interrupted by a loud, obviously fake cough. It came from the third robot standing in the bridge, a dark seeker that Thundercracker as well as any other knowledgeable Decepticon knew perfectly well as Starscream, Aerospace commander of the Decepticon Armada, and second in command to Lord Megatron. While Starscream was generally the same size as both Thundercracker and Skywarp, his larger wingspan made him stand out as the most threatening of the three (something Thundercracker would have guessed was on purpose.) He was red and silver in colour, with black and gold highlights on his head and broadened shoulders. His wings were fitted with a pair of large thrusters that faced upwards while his legs were bent with an extra joint between his knee and his ankle. He stood with an arched back and a self-glorifying stance whereas his expression as he turned to the others was grim.

There was a moment of pause before Starscream spoke, 'You were speaking during my soliloquy.'

'Huh?' Thundercracker was aware Starscream was muttering _something_, but was too tired to pay any proper attention to his commander's words. 'Oh! Yeah, right, sorry Screamer, I wasn't aware that you were—um…'

'Talking to yourself,' Skywarp finished.

Thundercracker scowled, 'That wasn't what I was going to say.'

'You've said enough.' Starscream replied, making a dramatic gesture as he glared at the blue robot, 'just remember next time, that you will from this point onwards address me as Commander Starscream, _not _"Screamer".' He arched his upper lip in disgust, 'and I might as _well_ be talking to myself, mind you, as there don't appear to be any signs of intelligent life on this craft anyways.'

_Idiot! _Thundercracker thought. Starscream believed _he _was the most intelligent on board? Starscream was nothing but another war-mongering scoundrel in Thundercracker's eyes, living for nothing more than to kill and try to make himself look good while doing it. To Thundercracker, Starscream was far from the most intelligent on board the Nemesis. To Thundercracker, that was _him._

Starscream cleared his throat, 'Now, for my soliloquy… a yes. _For as I am deeply humbled to be chosen for such a mission, it is only understandable that Megatron would choose his most adept combatant to fight for him in-_'

'What about Soundwave?'

Starscream frowned at Skywarp who hovered in place next to Thundercracker, 'What about him?'

'Well, he is a pretty… _smart_ guy, a proper soldier from what I hear at least, been a part of the Decepticons since, like, forever.'

Starscream growled, 'Soundwave is an uncharismatic bore who weaseled his way into the Decepticon High Command through aft-kissing and blackmail, he is in no way skilled enough to deserve such a position of power! He's a pompous fool, a fanboy,he's a…a- he's standing right behind me, isn't he?'

Skywarp burst into laughter as Starscream turned around only to find himself faced with the Decepticons Communications head: Soundwave. Bulkier than Starscream and just as tall, Soundwave stood in a typical military fashion as expected from someone as obedient as himself, a far cry from Starscream's more laidback and snobbish posture. He was silvery-blue with a maroon coloured faceplate and highlights, his face was hidden behind a dark blue visor whereas four, pink tinted optics could only _just _be spotted from behind up close. He had wide ovals of blue light located across his chest and arms, arms that were long and thick, stretching abnormally to his ankles rather than the conventional 'just below the waist' giving off a sense of eeriness. Something that attributed to the limited amount of people that would consider Soundwave a friend, let alone a likeable acquaintance.

The two cons glared at each-other for what felt like minutes until the softest sound emitted from Soundwave's maroon faceplate. The communications officer then moved robotically away from Starscream, reading the schematics on a nearby console and punching in inputs on the keypad below.

Starscream glanced at the idle Skywarp and Thundercracker, pointing a trembling digit at Soundwave as he did. 'Did he just- he laughed right now didn't he?' He craned his head back to Soundwave, 'who do you think you are? Laughing at Aerospace Commander Starscream?'

Skywarp leaned towards Thundercracker, '_He's speaking in third person again.'_

The blue robot waved a dismissive hand not to encourage him.

Soundwave barely seemed to notice, focusing the majority of his attention to his work on the monitor, 'I recollect that the Aerospace Legion's progress in the war front has been minimal at best…'

Both Thundercracker and Skywarp watched on as Starscream's rage built 'And you think you're _so much better_ than us? What do you even _do?'_

Soundwave raised his head, 'Well, I have contributed exponentially to the formulation of Lord Megatron's grand plan. In fact I was the one who made the suggestion to apply Shockwave's prototypes to good use, which is indefinitely more than anything the Aerospace Legion has accomplished in its wasteful expenditures and pointless conquest of organic colonies these past years.'

'Bah!' Starscream made a rude gesture and stomped away from the comms head, 'I don't even know what you're _doing _here, shouldn't you be performing maintenance checks and comm frequencies back at New Kaon?'

Soundwave shrugged, 'I suppose Lord Megatron simply requires at least _one _reliable soldier under his command at a time.'

Skywarp proceeded to make a whooping noise as Starscream scoffed, 'I bet you _begged_ Megatron to take you on this mission, just so you could be…' he grinned slyly, '-_alone _with his Lordship.'

'Actually I think I agree with Soundwave.' Three sets of optics all turned to Thundercracker, 'I mean, we really have been going overboard with the- you know, with the pointless killing and strafe runs. I can't for the life of me recall the last time we actually fought an Autobot.'

Before he knew it, Starscream had already tightened his grip around Thundercracker's throat, liftinghim off the ground and above his head. 'Perhaps I should tutor you further in the long, harsh lesson I like to call: "Learning to speak when spoken to."' Thundercracker wheezed heavily as Starscream's tightened grip overwrote his rational thought. He grappled at Starscream's fingertips only for the Aerospace Commander to sneer and chuck him carelessly into Soundwave bulky exterior, knocking him gently into the console he was working at.

'Feh,' Starscream proceeded to dust himself off, 'it appears that some of us still need a reminder on who's in charge.'

Thundercracker prepared to lift him off of the floor only for Soundwave to dropkick him square in the gut, prompting Starscream and Skywarp to roar in laughter.

'Look Skywarp!' Starscream mused, 'Even the least popular Decepticon of all time hates Thundercracker for his pussy-footing!'

As Starscream tilted his head back to laugh, he was met with a large force in the form of Thundercracker, having been hurdled into the Aerospace Commander by one of Soundwave's powerful throws.

Starscream fell backwards from the sudden weight against his torso, landing hard on his back. He cursed, and shoved the blue seeker of him before massaging the parts on his head that made contact with the floor.

'You have no right to strike the second in command of the Decepticons!'

'And you have no right to damage my equipment.'

Starscream leapt to his feet and proceeded to berate Soundwave in a jagged and rage-fueled lecture that was responded with the occasional two to three syllabled phrases as Skywarp watched. A large silver and blood-red coloured robot stood next to him with either hand placed neatly behind his back.

'So, what have I missed?' the silver robot asked.

'Not much.' Skywarp replied, 'Starscream and Soundwave got in a fight again… oh, and Thundercracker got beat up as well.'

'Oh.' The silver robot said, 'I wonder how Lord Megatron will feel about this.'

Skywarp shrugged, 'Oh I don't know, you should probably ask him your-'he stopped, turning to face the silver robot.

He was big. At least a head taller than Starscream and Soundwave and with broad, rectangular shoulders that evened out his width as well as his length. It seemed as though everything about the silver bot gave off a powerful aura. Of course, this was to be expected, for he was Megatron.

Skywarp nearly screamed like a girl upon the sudden appearance of his master. At once, Starscream, Thundercracker and Soundwave reacted at once and straightened themselves into military stances.

'Lord Megatron.' Starscream addressed, bowing greedily, 'I greatly apologize for not _seeing _you there. You appeared to have snuck up on us while Soundwave and I were in a… debate of sorts.'

Megatron moved briskly to the edge of the bridge, eyeing the readouts on the main screen and punching inputs into the holo-keys below. 'Soundwave, status report.'

'From what I've managed to gather, we should be nearing the location of the squadron that defeated the drone, however, due to Starscream's incompetence, the scanning console has been reset. Tracking the target Autobots will take somewhat longer than desired because of this.'

Megatron tilted his head to the side and raised a powerful arm. Swinging it carelessly backwards and striking Starscream square in the chest, sending him hurdling backwards and crashing into the back wall.

Starscream's face morphed into a snarl as he fisted the ground, 'Tattletale… ' he grumbled.

'Pardon me…' the Decepticon leader said offhandedly as he clasped his hands behind his back once more, 'Soundwave, can you scan for any nearby energy readings with what we have now?'

Soundwave nodded and moved to the nearest console, punching in commands to the Nemesis's tracking system. 'That's… irregular.'

Megatron raised a brow. 'What is it Soundwave?'

'My apologies Lord Megatron, but either Starscream has done more damage to the system than I initially thought… or the Nemesis has only detected two Autobot Life Signals within the vicinity of the drone.'

There was Silence on the bridge as the five Decepticons exchanged skeptical glances.

'… Put Slipstream on the line.'

'Of course, Lord Megatron.'

In moments, the bridge lit up as the holographic representation of a black and green seeker materialized around them. She had the same general body type as Starscream but with a noticeably different transformation, clearly fitted with something closer to a pitch black stealth jet than that of a flashy fighter craft. Her head sculpt was also adorned with thinner appendages, most notably being the long elf-like audio receptors on either side of her head. Standing next to her were a pair of seekers, one crimson and gold, -his wings lowered in an almost cape-like fashion, and the other bulkier with silver and grey colours, a pointed head, and wings located on his legs rather than his back. There was a prideful look plastered across Slipstream's face.

'Lord Megatron, all ninety-eight troops are patiently awaiting your orders, are we to attack now or-?'

'Slipstream, take the legion and return to Kaon for further instructions, this does not require your assistance.'

Slipstream frowned, 'If… that's what you propose. Alright then, we'll pull out and uh… call us when you need us I suppose.'

She turned to the two Seekers behind her, 'Sunstorm, set co-ordinates to New Kaon. Ramjet cut the feed.'

In seconds, the hologram dissipated leaving four very stunned Decepticons facing Megatron.

'My Lord I…' Starscream hesitated as he tried to form the proper words, 'Is it er… _wise_ to send our backup away before even assessing the situation? Surely my armada could be of _some _use to-'

'We don't need them.' Megatron said flatly, 'We'll deal with this situation hands on.'

Thundercracker folded his arms, 'Then why don't we just strafe them with the Nemesis; wipe them out like the scum they are and save us the trouble.'

'We cannot waste our firepower on only two Autobots.' The Warlord explained, 'We're low enough on Energon as is, and with our former weapons manufacturer… missing, we cannot afford to fire a single one of the Nemesis's cannons.'

Starscream bowed, signalling Thundercracker and Skywarp to follow suit, 'Then let me be the one to kill them Lord Megatron; let us prove the Seeker's… _significance_ to you.'

Megatron stopped and stared at the bowing Decepticon, pausing as if to reconsider his trust in Starscream's skills before nodding. 'Do what you want.'

Starscream smirked, 'Thank you Megatron, in your straightforward consent you have just guaranteed our victory.'


	7. Confronting Rats

Optimus made his way back into the mustard coloured cell block where Ironhide and Blackarachnia waited. While the latter looked as if she wouldn't want to be anywhere else, the former appeared ready to bawl with both of his hands wrapped around an oil stained repair ray. It was evidently functional from the look of Ironhide's mended frame, but the amount of dripping Energon from it. Both stared at Optimus intently.

'I can already tell you came out empty handed,' Blackarachnia teased, 'so why don't you just shoot yourselves already? You've got no leverage in this battle, might as well get it over with and end the pain now, yeah?'

'Shut your God-damned mouth you little-' Ironhide stopped himself mid-sentence, deciding that he wouldn't let his anger overcome him at this point, not with so much on the line. He looked at Optimus, 'Did you find anything in Sky-Line's ship?'

He shook his head. 'It's basically a taxi; nothing inside but an Autopilot remote.' He reached into his belt and pulled out a brown-ish rectangular box. 'It just takes one click and the ship flies from one place to another.' He clicked down on a random button to accentuate his point, 'Unfortunately I can't imagine that pile of junk will get us anywhere but-'

Suddenly a low rumbling shook the very asteroid either ship had been parked on, much to the Prime's dismay. Moments after he had pressed on the remote, Sky-Line's ship had begun it's take off sequence, large thrusters torching the solid rock as the ship aimed for a random destination and shot itself forward. By the time Optimus had stepped outside, Sky-Line's ship was already a tiny white speck in the distance.

'Well… ship.'

He turned around to face Ironhide who responded with a blank stare. Behind him was Blackarachnia who stumbled out of the Ark laughing. Optimus hadn't noticed it prior, but she had been walking on an ugly limp. Her entire frame already appeared severely damaged from the battle prior.

Ironhide trained his cannons on her 'What are you-? Get back in your cell.' He edged towards Optimus, 'Why are we letting her stand, Prime? She killed the others; give me one good reason why I shouldn't put her down right now.'

Optimus stared at her for a moment and reached into his belt, 'Because she's wrong, we do have leverage.' He clicked a pair of stasis cuffs around the now silent Decepticon's wrists. 'We have a hostage.'

* * *

The three bots walked across the surface of the asteroid and far away from the Ark, each one as quiet as the next, much to Prime's surprise. Optimus took the lead as Ironhide dragged Blackarachnia along by a long metal wire connected to her wrists.

'So.' Optimus spoke up, hoping some last minute talk would help ease himself, 'Ironhide, I never got to ask but- what have you been doing these past twenty years?'

Ironhide cocked his head in thought, 'I suppose- I suppose I've been doing freelance work mostly, moving from outpost to outpost, dishing out all the help I can in the war effort, trying to make ties with the old gang… so on.'

'Did you meet with any of them? The old gang I mean.'

'Most of what I heard is the stuff of rumours I'm afraid. I ran into Prowl, obviously, Rodimus too, though he's a little difficult to ignore when he's pooling all the attention to himself.'

Optimus nodded. 'True enough.'

'What about you, what have you been up to until now?'

He sighed, 'Living mostly.'

A thundering roar erupted from above as all three robots ducked.

'Thank God.' Blackarachnia said, lifting her head, 'looks like we're finally getting to the good part.'

From the sky came three large space crafts, each one separating and shifting into a slick and powerful looking Cybertronian each. Their thrusters activated, slowing them to an easier descent before landing upon a large rock surface on the asteroid. Optimus found no trouble in determining the identity of the Decepticon in the center. Aerospace Commander Starscream, one of the highest ranking, and outright deadliest commanders in the Decepticon armada. The fact that Megatron had entrusted him as commander of their entire aerospace fleet determined just how worthy he was of the title.

'Slag, that's Starscream… isn't it?' Ironhide said, leaning towards Optimus, 'I can't believe they sent the most powerful aerial Decepticon to annihilate us.'

'You sound honoured.' Blackarachnia said, 'he's still a Cybertronian, a skillful one, but he's not Primus, no need to fawn over the thought of getting killed by him like some masochistic fan girl.'

'Oh God no, I'd rather die than—' he frowned '— I mean… fangirls?'

Optimus scanned the open field ahead of him, 'Ironhide, see that lump of rock to my left?'

He nodded, 'Strategic cover?'

'The minute a shot is fired, run for it, it's our best chances of getting through this alive.'

Standing at the highest point of the rock face, Starscream was almost disappointed by the Autobots lack of aversion to their assault. Regardless, the Aerospace Commander felt a sense of pride in being the one to knock off a powerful Autobot for Megatron, anything to show off his skills in combat was enough to please him. He waved a sleek, dismissive servo towards Skywarp and Thundercracker, 'Move aside, I need no help in cleaning this asteroid of filth.'

The two seekers nodded and kicked off the edge of the cliff, gliding gracefully before quaking the ground from the force of their heavy bodies. They turned, and jogged to the side-lines as to make way for their commander to finish the job.

Skywarp tilted his head back and laughed, 'That's not what he said when it came to mopping the Nemesis's main deck the yesterday day.'

Thundercracker sighed, 'My knees still hurt from having to scrub with the sponge.'

'Absorbent and yellow a-~

'Shut up.'

With Thundercracker and Skywarp out of the way and out of sight, Optimus immediately grabbed Blackarachnia from Ironhide, bringing the blade of his axe up to here throat.

Blackarachnia rolled all four optics, 'of course.'

'Starscream!' Optimus raised his voice and immediately regretted it, realizing this may not have been the best plan, 'let us go peacefully and the Decepticon lives.'

Starscream considered making a speech to strike a degree of awe in the Autobots beforehand, but instead decided to finish the job without the pleasantries. He raised his upper lip and extended his arm towards them. 'Do you really think I'm that big of an idiot?'

'I figured it was worth a shot.' Optimus said, scratching the back of his head.

The corner of Starscream's mouth arched as he stretched his arm outwards, 'Cute.' Panel's shifted, overlapped and rotated as his arm transformed into a multi barreled cannon equipped with six green and grey coloured missiles.

'Starscream wait!' Thundercracker called from below, a sliver of hesitance in his usually collected tone of voice, 'Maybe we should stop and think about this for just a moment, this drone has accomplished much this past year, are we really going to just put her to waste like this?'

'At least someone recognizes my usefulness around here.' Blackarachnia bemoaned.

Starscream scowled down upon Thundercracker, his optics burning with distaste for the blue Decepticon, 'Do you… doubt me? Do you doubt my sense of judgement?'

'Well… yes.'

Optics burning bright, the Aerospace commander cocked his weapon, aiming it directly at Optimus. A mental command away from pulling the trigger, he hesitated. A stray thought entered his mind, the thought being Megatron. What if he were to disobey? No doubt a punishment would come soon after, and while he would never admit it to anyone, Starscream was deathly scared of his lord and master. Teeth clenched, the Seeker brought a digit to his helm.

'Calling the Nemesis, this is Starscream, request permission to speak with Megatron.'

* * *

'Have faith in me Megatron.' Soundwave said, 'It will be a completely secure process.'

The Decepticon leader rubbed his chin, 'I see.'

Soundwave perked his head, 'Incoming call from Starscream.'

'Answer him.'

Soundwave paused to listen, nodded and looked back at his leader, 'The Autobots have the drone held hostage, Starscream is asking for permission to eliminate it in order to fulfill the mission. Your orders?'

Megatron squinted at the communications officer, 'Is that all? Tell him to open fire, it's just a drone, we can always salvage another from the wreckage.' Megatron sighed, 'One must sacrifice in order to fuel what's needed for the greatest good after all.'

'Eloquently put my lord.' Soundwave nodded, and reconnected with Starscream, 'Megatron has given the word, kill them all.'

* * *

Starscream grinned. 'As you wish.'

Blackarachnia's disposition evaporated in an instant, her grin dissipating and her posture slouching into a state of disbelief, 'Hold on… Starscream what are you-'

'Scatter!' Optimus yelped as he and Blackarachnia dove to their right. Missiles whizzed by as clusters of rock and debris burst from underneath them. Small brittles of asteroid ricocheted off of Ironhide's helm leaving nothing more than a hollow den as the black Autobot somersaulted behind cover ducking his head. Realizing he was the only one taking cover, Ironhide scanned the area of broken ground to find Optimus still standing within the open, Blackarachnia crouching next to him.

The Decepticon slammed her fist against the ground, 'Starscream you idiot! You almost hit me!'

'Prime!' Ironhide called out, spreading his arms out, 'the cover strategy, what the hell happened to the cover strategy?'

'Yeah, yes I hear you, I forgot which way the rock was, just stay there!'

'Megatron has deemed you redundant.' Starscream mocked from his perch, 'therefore, I don't have any real reason not to kill you.'

Blackarachnia propped herself up, realizing only now that her stasis cuffs had been unlocked by the force of the explosion. 'Damn it, damn you Starscream! Do you even know who the hell I am? I swear by the end of the day I'm going to tear a hole in your-'

'You will do no such thing.' Starscream retorted, 'You are an ungrateful and revolting beast, there are a hundred Decepticons under my command that wouldn't be happier to die by my hand.' He brought the palm of his hand to his chest, 'For I am Starscream, the leader of the future, the bringer of light and unity that will end the anarchy of our race!'

Blackarachnia lowered her head, 'I can't believe- Megatron he'd—I can't believe he would-'

Optimus Prime stepped forward brandishing his index finger towards him, 'you're insane Starscream, you already know you've lost so just leave us be or surrender peacefully.'

'Starscream never surrenders' he boasted, 'I am far superior to that!'

'You will never be superior Starscream… not to the power of justice!'

'Justice is a concept that I transcend; I define what true justice is!'

The two voices taunted back and forth for as long as it took for Ironhide to feel like vomiting.

'Why do commanders always have to act so stereotypically heroic, uptight and pompous…?'

'I know the feeling,' Thundercracker said.

Deadpanned, Ironhide turned around to find Thundercracker sitting on a large boulder behind him; the seeker blinked and stood up, 'Oh, I'm sorry I'll just-' He pointed to the left, staring at Ironhide, '-yeah…' Transforming, Thundercracker jetted off to a farther part of the asteroid, determined to stay on Starscream's good side.

'I've got a delivery for you Starscream!' Optimus said, 'and the return address is justice!'

'And I have a delivery for you Autobot!' Starscream stopped, realizing that he hadn't initially thought of a good comeback before speaking, Starscream simply raised his cannon and fired another cluster of missiles at Optimus.

Dodging in time, Optimus somersaulted past the missiles fire and next to Ironhide as clouds of debris kicked up from below, 'See? I remembered which way to dodge this time, not so bad right?'

From his perch, Starscream folded his weapon away, replacing it with a smaller but sleeker looking gatling-gun shaped weapon. The null-ray, 'Come out Autobots!' he fired a rapid fired dose of laser fire at the ground in front of them, unsure of where they had hidden from the clouds of space-dust blocking his vision. 'It is so sweet to see you scurry around in fear like the dirty rats you are.' He fired again.

'He just called us rats.' Optimus said, 'who does that?'

'Don't tell me your feelings are hurt.' Blackarachnia said

'Kind of…'

Ironhide snorted, 'Oh man up, Prime.'

Optimus waved a dismissive hand, 'I'm kidding.'

'You're a Prime aren't you?' Blackarachnia spouted, 'you command dozens of bots at a time, surely you have some plan.'

'I actually-'

'You what?'

Optimus shut his optics, 'I never properly led in my life, my first and last big job I let my Second in command do all the work.'

Blackarachnia sighed, 'We're dead.'

'Who's this we?' Ironhide said bitterly.

'Plebeians, worms, Proles, how does it feel to be cowardly scum…?'

'Now he's really dishing out the insults.' Optimus said.

'That's it.' Ironhide perked his head above the boulder and shouted at the Seeker 'At least I don't have chicken legs!'

Optimus face-palmed, 'idiot.'

The colour in Starscream's face drained away, '… what did you just say?'

Ironhide blinked, 'That your. Legs are. Chicken-y…'

Starscream stared.

'YOU'RE DEEEEAAAAAAD!'

Leaping into the air, Starscream shifted and transformed into his sleek red, white and black jet mode, powered by a pair of large thruster on the rear were set ablaze with powerful neon light.

'Oh scrap.' Optimus cursed as he shook Ironhide by the shoulders, 'move… MOVE!'

Starscream shot forward, a plethora of weaponry unfolded and powered up from his underside as he circled the area with intense speed, catching sight of the driving Optimus and Ironhide. Starscream didn't hold back, with Blackarachnia out of sight he barrel rolled and targeted the two Autobots, unleashing a barrage of missile and laser fire that tore apart chunks of the asteroid beneath them.


	8. Purple Sprayed

Kicking the ground, Optimus somersaulted forward and transformed. Activating his rear thruster and boosting forward along the bumpy terrain. Ironhide rolled not far behind, his cannon's firing aimlessly towards the sky. Rock exploded around them as both Autobots swerved, Starscream on the other hand reloaded his supplies, and circled around for another strafe-run. 'IT'S A COMMON BIRTH DEFECT!' the Decepticon screamed.

'We need to act fast!' Optimus said, tires spinning 'and we can't drive forever, on my mark, Transform and return fire.'

'And you?'

'I'll think of something.'

Optimus buckled to the side, hitting his brakes as Starscream unloaded another barrage, 'Now!'

Both robots transformed and held their ground, only to their surprise, not to find Starscream circling them in the sky like a bird of prey, but to find him jetting, nose-first towards them like a maniac.

'Incoming!'

The Aerospace Commander transformed, planting his legs on the ground and tearing it apart as he shredded to a halt. Landing directly in front of Optimus, Starscream swung a large servo and grabbed him by the throat, clenching down as he lifted the struggling robot above his head.

'Autobot, when will you ever learn your place?' He grinned, 'well, now that I think about it, that isn't the most difficult of questions to answer. Seeing as I'm about to kill you, I'd say- !'

'Never!'

Ironhide fired a cannon blast into Starscream's back, causing him to drop Optimus and fire a round of machine gun fire at the bulky bot. Ironhide somersaulted to the side, taking cover and firing rounds back at Starscream who dodged them accordingly.

'I nearly forgot there were two of you, you all seem to look –AGH!'

The Seeker looked down to find an orange Energon Axe sticking out of his side, pink and black substance leaked from the gash as metal peeled itself back, shying away from the weapon's orange glow. Optimus pulled it out and prepared another strike, only for Starscream to explode into a wild transformation back into his jet mode, panels sprang outward smacking Optimus in the chest as the newly formed air vehicle roared, jetting back into the sky where it circled them once again.

Ironhide doubled back, firing a round into the sky before hiding under cover once again. 'It's no use, we can't hit him while he's in the air; he's too fast!'

'In that case…' Optimus stepped into the open, swinging his axe back and forth, '…let's give him what he wants.' Starscream barrelled backwards, transforming in the air this time, descending down upon the two Autobots, and landing on top of Ironhide.

'There is no hiding from me!' Starscream announced, preparing his null ray. Before he could react, Optimus leapt at him, swinging his axe wildly at the Decepticon. Starscream leapt off of Ironhide to dodge and knocked Optimus's hand away, preparing a karate-chop of sorts only to find himself grappling with Optimus. His Axe drawing closer to his face.

'I may not have received the highest scores in the academy…' Optimus put pressure on his axe hand as Starscream held on to its handle, his other locked with Prime's in a violent struggle. Starscream could feel the blue and red Autobot gaining the upper hand, slowly over-powering the aerospace commander with a tremendous amount of strength. This baffled Starscream. Optimus grinned underneath his faceplate. '…but I'm still an academy bot nonetheless.' Spinning around, Prime delivered a roundhouse kick to Starscream's crotch, sending him jutting backwards as speck of oil sprayed from his mouth. From cover, Ironhide fired a condensed shot from either cannon at Starscream creating a plethora of indents, warps and burn markings in the Decepticon's upper torso and right shoulder.

Starscream let out a violent scream, firing his null rays wildly and taking to the skies once again.

* * *

Megatron's optics narrowed as he observed the fight from the safety of the Nemesis, parked nearly a solar system away from the action.

'Lord Megatron,' Soundwave spoke, 'might I ask whether you are feeling well or-'

He made a dismissive gesture, 'I _feel _well, Soundwave, but I am afraid I'm growing somewhat… bored by this debacle.'

'Will you be assisting Starscream?'

'No. I allowed Starscream to partake in this fight for a reason, and that reason is that this is vital for his development into what I intend him to become, but, if he is to fail...' he stared at his left servo.

Soundwave nodded, 'Shall I prepare your fusion cannon, your swords perhaps?'

'Again… no, Starscream's wasting enough ammunition as is, and besides, it will be no trouble for me to deal with this in a more…' his servo clenched into a fist, '…eco-friendly manner. '

* * *

Dodging another missile, Optimus managed to grasp the situation in a logical manner, one that took him a moment to properly believe. 'I've got it!' he snapped his fingers, whirling his head in Ironhide's direction, 'Ironhide, I think I've figured this guy out!'

Ironhide snorted, firing a weak bolt from his cannons at the soaring Seeker, 'Do I even want to know what that means?'

'It means there's a pattern, you see, this guy, Starscream, I know his secret. He's actually a huge idiot, a _massive_ idiot!

Ironhide didn't seem impressed, 'Right, I can understand that much… but what does that have to do with, um, anything?'

Optimus Prime tapped at his helm, 'Starscream loves to kill, or more specifically to assert his dominance, it's obvious by the way he's been taunting and attacking us. But it's not just dominance he wants, he wants to kill us but he wants to look _good _while doing it. He could be flying around and shooting at us all day until we run out of strength, but where's the fun in that?'

'… That sounded downright disturbing… coming from you.'

'Point is, any second now he's going to try coming down to our level again, and on our level, well, that's where we have the advantage.'

Losing track of the Seeker, Ironhide found himself struggling to believe it, 'I'm not so sure, I mean, he doesn't exactly seem sane but we've managed to force his retreat twice already, I just don't know if he's going to fall for-'

Out of nowhere, Starscream crashed down before them, his slick grin creasing the edges of his faceplate and his digits waggling as If he were surveying his meal.

'Huh.' Ironhide nodded to Optimus and opened fire, only for Starscream to sidestep out of the blast and thrust his dominant arm forward, delivery a hefty punch to Ironhide's torso and sending him hurdling backwards. Starscream flexed his arm, morphing it from his standard mode into a large, circular, razor covered buzz-saw. Advancing as Ironhide attempted to lift himself up and out of the rubble.

'It appears that your friend has abandoned you, pity, friends are never a good thing to keep, they have a tendency to betray you when you least expect it.' His buzz saw whirred eerily, 'at least he will be spared the sight of your innards flying out of your chest, and I know how snippy you Autobots get about violence. Now then… where _is _that friend of yours?'

Driving at him from behind in vehicle mode, Optimus transformed and leaped on Starscream's back.

'Here I am!'

While the Seeker was only about half a head taller than Optimus, grappling him was far from easy. Starscream squirmed and swung his spinning saw- blade out in front of him. 'Urgh… get off me you filthy, filthy thing!'

'The only thing filthy Starscream…' Optimus swung his axe into the Seeker's back, cutting between his wing and his spine. 'Is your face!'

Starscream screeched, his thrusters activating and deactivating at random intervals as he struggled. Ironhide blew on his overheated cannons from behind cover, 'Good one!' he called out.

Starscream tried to shake off the Autobot, but came up with a better plan, 'Might I ask, have you ever wanted to fly?'

Optimus frowned as he readied another strike, 'Might I what-?' but it was too late, Starscream had already Transformed, with Optimus still attached. Thrusting upwards, Optimus found himself holding on to Starscream's rear wings for dear life as he and the Decepticon sped through the dizzying asteroid field. Starscream lurched to the left as a means to get Optimus's grip to give in. The only thing that seemed close to giving in however, was Optimus's fuel-pump.

'How does it feel? I hear you Autobots have very few fliers; it mustn't be often you experience such. I almost feel sorry for you.'

Optimus groaned, 'Shut up! You won't stop talking and I hate you.'

'Oh believe me, the only reason I am talking to you at all right now is because I _know _you hate it. Now then… what trick should I do next in order to get you off of me…?'

Optimus took a risk and raised his axe, 'Do a barrel roll!' he yelled, slamming it down against the previous wound in the wing, Optimus had managed to cut at least half of the Seeker's right wing off completely. Screeching, Starscream buckled backwards, crashing into the previous asteroid, but not before being used as a launch pad for Optimus to direct his descent towards the hunk of rock below him. And by that, he crashed directly into Ironhide.

Rolling backwards, the black and red Autobot massaged his back, shoving the heftier Prime off of him. 'Ugh, I beg your pardon Prime…'

Optimus raised a servo as he lifted himself to his feet; 'Sorry…' he turned to face the wide crater, formed by Starscream.

'You think he's dead?' Ironhide asked.

As if on cue, Starscream rose from the smoke and rubble, with one wing broken and the other bent, his only source of flight were the pair of thrusters on his back. He snarled, 'I'm going to _kill_ you!'

Starscream lurched forward, transforming into a wingless jet and boosting forward, only to crash headfirst back into the rock. 'My wings!' Starscream clumsily transformed back into robot mode, fisting the ground as he did. 'My lustrous wings…How- how DARE you, you maggots!'

Ironhide placed a hand on his hip as he surveyed the smouldered seeker, 'Well, that's quite an insult you don't hear every day, you know you _could _just call us slag heads and be done with it.'

Starscream stood up, 'Look, I am not sure what else to say to you but if you are as eager to get this as over and done with as I am then…' he spread his arms to either side of him beckoning them forth, 'COME ON!

Transforming, Optimus sped forward as Ironhide provided cover fire, in response; Starscream morphed his arm into his missile launcher and opened fire, forcing Prime to swerve. His thrusters ablaze, Optimus drove forward, ramming himself into Starscream's mid-section and sending him hurdling further backwards. Starscream elbowed Optimus's hood only for him to transform and clutch either one of Starscream's wrists pushing him back, roaring as he did so. At once, Optimus pulled backwards, twisting and tearing Starscream's rocket arm out from its socket. While the Seeker was stunned, Optimus spawned his axe once again, chopping at Starscream's wrist and disabling him indefinitely.

The Seeker fell backwards, cowering away on his hands on knees, 'Please! We can- we can strike a deal yeah? I'm absolutely powerless, no guns, no flight, I couldn't lay a scratch on you if I wanted. So if you would be so kind could you give me a hand or-or spare me at the very least?'

Optimus turned to Ironhide who firmly shook his head. Uncomfortably but without a hint of naivety, Optimus motioned Ironhide to do whatever he wanted, whatever _that_ might have been. Charging his cannons, Ironhide approached the seeker heartily but with a noticeably less amount of charisma as he had during the battle.

'Please…' Starscream outstretched his wounded servo, 'You can't actually- you can't actually be this…'

His optics narrowed and his momentarily aghast expression morphed into a widened grin, 'Stupid.'

Jumping to his feet, the thrusters on Starscream's back flipped up and aimed forward, rotating inwards on themselves.

Optimus leaped forward, 'IRONHIDE!'

Two bright beams of neon blue light fired from Starscream's shoulders creating a widened hole in Ironhide's torso and one in his shoulder. Electricity surging in either of his wounds, Ironhide staggered back, grabbing at dead air as his optics widened. As if the light had been leaking from his retinal, the large, black Autobot fell on his back, his optics grey.

Starscream smirked as his shoulder cannons smoked, 'Did you really think I am actually that pathetic? That I would ever bow to an Autobot before dying to one? And you called me an idiot.'

Optimus dashed forward, brandishing his axe, 'DAMN YOU!'

The Air Commander casually picked up his discarded Null Ray, but instead of using it traditionally, he held it as a club, picking the correct moment and swinging it crashing into Optimus Prime's faceplate. Optimus's head cracked backwards as chunks of metal from his faceplate came flying off, replacing the broken area with warps and fractures that morphed the facial skeleton underneath. Optimus was sent a good thirty feet backwards, landing hard on the ground and filled to the brim with pain.

'Is this disappointment I feel?' Starscream's chest-plate opened up, revealing a cluster of heat-seeking missiles. Opening fire, thirty bright purple lights escaped his torso, soaring upwards before crashing back down at Prime's feet. 'Or pity…' The missiles exploded into multiple purple fireballs and throwing the Red Autobot backwards, the back of his head hitting a rock face and forcibly snapping his head back in place. Broken, Optimus rose to his feet.

'You're a hard one.' Starscream admitted as he reactivated his saw-blade, 'But regardless I will condemn you for proving to be a tougher customer than you let on. Unfortunately, this is also why I'm going to savor your death a little longer.'

Optimus huffed, clenching his fists and wiping some spilled Energon from his faceplate, 'Bring it!'

Starscream raised the buzz saw, completely prepared, and willing to finish it. He hesitated. He never hesitated. What he could have sworn was a trick of the light, on further inspection revealed itself to be much more. Among the broken pieces of his faceplate were splotches of bright purple Energon. But Starscream knew what spilled blood looked like, he probably knew it better than most other Decepticons, but this… among the purple liquid in the fracture of Optimus's faceplate, was a shade of purple different from the rest. 'But that…' Starscream pointed a digit towards Prime's face, 'why do you have a-'

Before he could finish, a pair of long, sharp, spear-like tendrils tore through Starscream's back and out his chest. From them, a burst of electricity surged through him, causing him to cough up black fluids. With all feeling in his body gone, Starscream collapsed.

Behind him, Blackarachnia transformed, it looked painful and jarring, especially with the addition of size-changing, but she had managed to convert back into her humanoid form, panting.

'Oh Primus… of God that was a bad idea, that was a _very_ bad idea… way too much power… serves him right though.' She spat at Starscream's unconscious body and turned to Optimus who appeared to have been gluing his faceplate back together with his own leaked Energon.

'I don't suppose you're up for a fight are you?' Blackarachnia panted, her legs shaking, 'Because I'm not.'

Optimus had been jumping in place as a means to regain the feeling in his legs, 'I don't know… I managed to dislocate and re-locate every visceral muscle in my system so as much as I may regret saying it, I could very well go a few more rounds.'

Blackarachnia sighed, 'Well… I'd run away but transforming takes a lot out of my system and I- I'm a little….' She collapsed, falling face first into the ground.

Optimus shrugged, 'Thanks anyway…' He turned his attention to Ironhide's body, 'Ironhide…'

Before he could think anything of it, a hint of movement caught him off guard. Starscream was moving.

The Aerial Commander pushed against the ground, his head hung-low, '…Thunnnercrackurgh!' he screeched, his voice slurred and raspy 'Sgguywarrrp!'

On cue, both seekers appeared in a burst of purple light, transforming and landing agilely adjacent to Starscream.

'.. He's on his own now.' Starscream said, 'Terminate him and get it done with.'

It was Thundercracker who made the first move, his arm morphing into a large bladed weapon as he thrusted it at Prime's throat. He was smaller than Starscream, but about the same height if not inches shorter than Optimus. 'Like we'll even get the credit for it.'

Skywarp activated his chain gun from behind, ''Least we get to have some fun.'

Thundercracker slammed the broad side of his blade into Prime's neck, pushing him back towards the rock-face, pressing against his throat.

Before Thundercracker could get a response, a loud gunshot sounded behind him. It came from Ironhide. He was sitting up with his cannon pointed forward, a stream of smoke trailing from the barrel. He traced the direction in which the shot fired to see Skywarp, his face ripped off from his skull, and a flaming hole where the top of his head should have been. Thundercracker screamed out, dropping his sword and rushing to catch his fellow seeker.

'Nooo!' kneeling as he held him, Thundercracker shook his body receiving the faintest of responses in Skywarp's servos. 'He's… his spark is intact, and I think his brain module is as well he- but he won't last long.'

He lifted Skywarp, half carrying, half dragging him away from the scene.

'Where do you think you're going?' Starscream said.

'Back to the Nemesis, Skywarp isn't going to last much longer unless I get him some medical attention stat.'

Starscream's voice rose to a higher pitch, 'Who cares! Kill them now while they stand!'

Thundercracker snorted, pulling Skywarp past another rock-face, '_I_ care.'

With the seekers gone and Starscream silent, it was Blackarachnia's hint to move. She lifted herself to her feet, only to fall back onto one knee. Optimus was checking on Ironhide.

'Could you quit dying for one second?'

Ironhide shrugged, kneeling and panting heavily, 'Eh, if I don't do what has to be done then no one will.' He turned his attention to Blackarachnia, almost if not just as out of shape as he was, 'So, what do we do about her?'

'Whatever you want,' the spider said, 'in case you hadn't already noticed, I've pretty much sealed my fate when I attacked Starscream here. There's basically no chance I'll ever be let back in with my head still attached.'

Ironhide tried to move but was overwhelmed by the pain, 'I say we kill her now, don't let her kill again. Kill _and _be killed.'

Optimus hesitated, 'No, not now, I don't- I'll decide what to do with her, just-'

He was interrupted by a roar, emanating from Starscream, 'It hurts….' The Seeker crawled forward with his thin bony limbs, 'It hurts so- so much pain…' he raised his cracked head, his teeth grinding together as his optics widened further.'This can't happen… it can't! This can't be- how can this- how can this happen?!' He looked Optimus directly in the optic, reaching what's left of his arm forward, 'I can never be defeated by pathetic wretches like you!' His optics darted to Blackarachnia, 'and you- you pathetic lab experiment…' His expression changed from a look of pure anger to what looked like fear and exasperation, 'don't you- don't look at me! How _dare _you look at me, don't look down at me!' He raised his upper body only for it to tear from his lower half, 'DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME YOU _WOOOORMMMSSS!' _

Ironhide swung a mighty fist into Starscream's skull, smashing it into the asteroid and forcing him into stasis lock, silencing the Seeker. He turned to Optimus and shrugged, 'Cannons overheated, had to improvise.'

Optimus nodded, 'Works for me… now go.'

'What?'

'Head to the Ark, take Blackarachnia with you and activate the Ark's cloaking shield, the Decepticons shouldn't be able to find you there.'

'What?' Ironhide repeated albeit his tone harsher.

'Get some medical attention.' Optimus advised motioning to his shaking legs, 'you can barely stand on your own, if should use each other as supports if you want to make it back in one piece.'

'Support-?' Ironhide realized, turning to Blackarachnia, her legs only barely keeping her upright, 'Optimus, you don't honestly expect me to let this murderer live do you?'

He shook his head, 'I don't, what I want you to do is take her back to the Ark and bound her with as many stasis cuffs as you need.'

Blackarachnia waved a disinterested servo, 'No really, if you're going to kill me you might as well do it now, It's not like I can fight or anything… not like I have much a reason to anyway. I'm ready to die if that's what you want.'

Ironhide jabbed a finger at Optimus, 'What's the difference? We already know we aren't going to let her live so pick up Starscream's gun and-'

Optimus drew his axe, 'That is a direct order Ironhide, use her as a support to walk, put her in the cell, and wait for me. I will decide what we do with her later.'

Ironhide clenched his fists, his optics narrowing, 'Yes sir…'

'Before we go…' Blackarachnia pointed towards the ground where Starscream once lay, all that was left was the small crater in the form of the Seeker's body, Starscream himself was missing, gone.

'How the hell did he sneak off so quietly?' Ironhide wondered.

'Never mind that,' Optimus said, 'Go, activate the cloaking device, and stay there. Do what you want, if you kill her; fine, just know if you do I won't let you on my ship ever again.' He stopped, realizing how harsh he sounded, 'I'll… finish things up here.'

Ironhide narrowed his optics, placing an arm around Blackarachnia who mirrored him just as coldly.

'I'll see you around I guess…' Ironhide muttered, rushing Blackarachnia along.

Optimus watched them limp their way over the large bumps and craters in the asteroid, into the direction of the Ark. As the yellow tint of yellow in the distance disappeared, camouflaging itself along with the landscape he knew they would be safe. Sighing, Optimus activated the Ark's automatic locks via his wrist compartment. 'That'll keep him at bay.' He turned the other way, moving over to Starscream's discarded Null ray before lifting the hefty weapon, fingering the trigger. A feeling of disdain overcame him upon wielding an enemy's weapon, he didn't know what it was, it just didn't feel… right.

A silver and red robot, at least a head or two taller than Optimus appeared in the corner of the Prime's optic, 'So…' Megatron spoke, 'What have I missed?'


End file.
